Rhamnolipid-producing cell having reduced glucose dehydrogenase activity

ABSTRACT

Cells which make rhamnolipids and are genetically modified such that they have a decreased activity, compared to the wild type thereof, are provided. A glucose dehydrogenase and a method for producing rhamnolipids using the cells according to the invention are also provided.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 16/333,719, filed on Mar. 15, 2019, which was the National Stage entry under § 371 of International Application No. PCT/EP2017/076620, filed on Oct. 18, 2017, and which claims the benefit of priority to European Application No. 16195194.2, filed on Oct. 24, 2016. The content of each of these applications is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

REFERENCE TO A SEQUENCE LISTING

The present application is accompanied by an XML file as a computer readable form containing the sequence listing entitled, “005202USDIV01-seqlist.xml”, created on May 4, 2023, with a file size of 87,293 bytes, the content of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of Invention

The invention relates to cells which make rhamnolipids and are genetically modified such that they have a decreased activity, compared to the wild type thereof, of a glucose dehydrogenase and to a method for producing rhamnolipids using the cells according to the invention.

Description of Related Art

DE102012201360 describes cells which make rhamnolipids and are genetically modified such that they have decreased or increased activities, compared to the wild type thereof, of certain enzymes and enzyme combinations, meaning that the cells advantageously produce rhamnolipids, and a method for producing rhamnolipids using the cells according to the invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the invention to provide cells having an increased yield of rhamnolipids on the basis of the carbon source used.

It was found that, surprisingly, the cells described below are able to achieve the aforementioned object.

The invention provides cells which make rhamnolipids and are genetically modified such that they have a decreased activity, compared to the wild type thereof, of a glucose dehydrogenase.

The invention further provides a method for producing rhamnolipids using the aforementioned cells as biocatalyst.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

The FIGURE shows a graph of total yields of the strains PP-155 and PP-099 [Δgcd] in parallel experiments (runs #1-3) and comparison of the mean values.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

One advantage of the present invention is that it is possible to use organisms which are not pathogenic and are easy to culture.

Another advantage of the present invention is that it is possible to make use of a large selection of carbon sources.

A further advantage is that it is not necessary in all circumstances to use oils as sole substrate or as co-substrate.

Another advantage is that it is possible with the aid of the invention to produce rhamnolipids having defined and modulatable properties.

A further advantage is that it is possible to produce rhamnolipids with higher space-time and carbon yields than with cells with no change in these activities.

The present invention therefore provides a cell, preferably an isolated cell able to make at least one rhamnolipid, characterized in that it has been genetically modified such that it, compared to the wild type thereof, has a decreased activity of at least one enzyme E₁, which catalyses the conversion of D-glucose and quinone to D-glucono-1,5-lactone and quinol.

The term “wild type” of a cell denotes here a cell whose genome is present in a state as has arisen naturally by evolution. The term is used both for the whole cell and for individual genes. The term “wild type”, therefore, particularly does not include those cells or genes whose gene sequences have been at least partially modified by man by means of recombinant techniques. The term “wild type” denotes in particular the phenotype, the genotype or the gene that occurs most frequently in numbers in a natural population of organisms.

In the context of the present invention, the term “rhamnolipid” is understood to mean a compound of the general formula (I) or the sat thereof,

-   -   where     -   m=2, 1 or 0, in particular 1 or 0,     -   n=1 or 0, in particular 1,     -   R¹=organic radical having 2 to 24, preferably 5 to 13, carbon         atoms, in particular optionally branched, optionally         substituted, in particular hydroxy-substituted, optionally         unsaturated, in particular optionally mono-, bi- or         tri-unsaturated, alkyl radical, preferably one selected from the         group consisting of pentenyl, heptenyl, nonenyl, undecenyl and         tridecenyl and (CH₂)_(o)—CH₃ where o=1 to 23, preferably 4 to         12, and     -   R²=independently of one another, identical or different, organic         radical having 2 to 24, preferably 5 to 13, carbon atoms, in         particular optionally branched, optionally substituted, in         particular hydroxy-substituted, optionally unsaturated, in         particular optionally mono-, bi- or tri-unsaturated, alkyl         radical, preferably one selected from the group consisting of         pentenyl, heptenyl, nonenyl, undecenyl and tridecenyl and         (CH₂)_(o)—CH₃ where o=1 to 23, preferably 4 to 12.

ist.

If the cell according to the invention is able to make a rhamnolipid where m=1, it is preferred that the radical determined via R¹ and R² is

derived from 3-hydroxyoctanoyl-3-hydroxyoctanoic acid, 3-hydroxyoctanoyl-3-hydroxydecanoic acid, 3-hydroxydecanoyl-3-hydroxyoctanoic acid, 3-hydroxyoctanoyl-3-hydroxydecenoic acid, 3-hydroxydecenoyl-3-hydroxyoctanoic acid, 3-hydroxyoctanoyl-3-hydroxydodecanoic acid, 3-hydroxydodecanoyl-3-hydroxyoctanoic acid, 3-hydroxyoctanoyl-3-hydroxydodecenoic acid, 3-hydroxydodecenoyl-3-hydroxyoctanoic acid, 3-hydroxydecanoyl-3-hydroxydecanoic acid, 3-hydroxydecanoyl-3-hydroxydecenoic acid, 3-hydroxydecenoyl-3-hydroxydecanoic acid, 3-hydroxydecenoyl-3-hydroxydecenoic acid, 3-hydroxydecanoyl-3-hydroxydodecanoic acid, 3-hydroxydodecanoyl-3-hydroxydecanoic acid, 3-hydroxydecanoyl-3-hydroxydodecanoic acid, 3-hydroxydecanoyl-3-hydroxytetradecenoic acid, 3-hydroxytetradecanoyl-3-hydroxydecenoic acid, 3-hydroxydodecenoyl-3-hydroxydecanoic acid, 3-hydroxydecanoyl-3-hydroxytetradecanoic acid, 3-hydroxytetradecanoyl-3-hydroxydecanoic acid, 3-hydroxydecanoyl-3-hydroxytetradecenoic acid, 3-hydroxytetradecenoyl-3-hydroxydecanoic acid, 3-hydroxydodecanoyl-3-hydroxydodecanoic acid, 3-hydroxydodecenoyl-3-hydroxydodecanoic acid, 3-hydroxydodecanoyl-3-hydroxydodecenoic acid, 3-hydroxydodecanoyl-3-hydroxytetradecanoic acid, 3-hydroxytetradecanoyl-3-hydroxydodecanoic acid, 3-hydroxytetradecanoyl-3-hydroxytetradecanoic acid, 3-hydroxyhexadecanoyl-3-hydroxytetradecanoic acid, 3-hydroxytetradecanoyl-3-hydroxyhexadecanoic acid or 3-hydroxyhexadecanoyl-3-hydroxyhexadecanoic acid.

It is evident to a person skilled in the art that a cell according to the invention is also able to make mixtures of various rhamnolipids of the general formula (I).

In this connection, it is preferred that the cells according to the invention are able to make mixtures of rhamnolipids of the general formula (I), characterized in that n=1 in more than 80% by weight, preferably more than 90% by weight, particularly preferably more than 95% by weight, of the rhamnolipids made and the radical determined via R¹ and R² is derived from 3-hydroxydecanoyl-3-hydroxyoctanoic acid or 3-hydroxyoctanoyl-3-hydroxydecanoic acid in less than 20% by weight, preferably less than 15% by weight, of the rhamnolipids made,

-   -   the specified % by weight being based on the sum of all         rhamnolipids of the general formula (I) made.

The accession numbers listed in the context of the present invention correspond to the protein bank database entries of the NCBI with a date of 26.01.2016; generally, in the present case, the version number of the entry is identified by “.number” such as, for example, “.1”.

Unless stated otherwise, all percentages (%) given are percentages by mass.

The expression “decreased activity of an enzyme E_(x)” used is accordingly understood to mean preferably activity decreased by a factor of at least 0.5, particularly preferably at least 0.1, further preferably at least 0.01, still further preferably at least 0.001 and most preferably at least 0.0001. The expression “decreased activity” also includes no detectable activity (“activity of zero”).

Methods for decreasing enzymatic activities in microorganisms are known to a person skilled in the art. Molecular biology techniques in particular are useful here. For example, the activity of a certain enzyme can be decreased by targeted mutation or by other measures known to a person skilled in the art for decreasing the activity of a certain enzyme. Instructions for modifying and decreasing protein expression and associated enzyme activity decrease specifically for Pseudomonas and Burkholderia, in particular for interrupting specific genes, can be found by a person skilled in the art in, for example. Dubeau et al. 2009. BMC Microbiology 9:263; Singh & Röhm. Microbiology, 2008. 154:797-809 or Lee et al. FEMS Microbiol Lett. 2009. 297(1):38-48. The preferred ways of decreasing the enzymatic activity of the enzyme E₁ that are described below can similarly be preferably used for further enzyme activities to be decreased in the context of the present invention.

Cells preferred according to the invention are characterized in that the decrease in enzymatic activity is achieved by genetic modification of the gene encoding the enzyme E₁, said modification being selected from the group comprising, preferably consisting of, insertion of foreign DNA into the gene, deletion of at least parts of the gene, point mutations in the gene sequence, especially in or of regulatory sequences, such as, for instance, promoters and terminators or of ribosomal binding sites.

In this context, foreign DNA is understood to mean any DNA sequence which is “foreign” to the gene (and not to the organism), i.e. endogenous DNA sequences can also function as “foreign DNA” in this context. In this context, the gene is particularly preferably interrupted by insertion of a selection marker gene; the foreign DNA is therefore a selection marker gene, the insertion preferably having taken place by homologous recombination into the gene locus.

Cells alternatively preferred according to the invention are characterized in that the decrease in enzymatic activity is achieved by a targeted, transcriptional or post-transcriptional gene silencing of the gene encoding the enzyme E₁, especially with the aid of at least one repressor binding to the promoter of the gene encoding the enzyme E₁, by means of nonsense-mediated mRNA decay (NMD) and RNA interference (RNAi), with RNAi preferably making use of microRNA methodology (miRNA) or of the small interfering RNA method (siRNA), by means of which the mRNA of the enzyme E₁ is degraded.

According to the invention, it is preferred that E₁ is a glucose 1-dehydrogenase of EC 1.1.5.2. Particularly preferred enzymes E₁ are selected from enzymes encoded by a god gene and also enzymes having a polypeptide sequence in which up to 25%, preferably up to 20%, particularly preferably up to 15%, in particular up to 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1%, of the amino acid residues are modified with respect to the enzymes encoded by a gcd gene by deletion, insertion, substitution or a combination thereof and which still has at least 10%, preferably 50%, particularly preferably 80%, In particular more than 90%, of the enzymatic activity of the enzyme having the reference sequence of the enzymes encoded by a gcd gene.

In particular, the enzymes E₁ are selected from enzymes E₁ having polypeptide sequence AAN67066.1 or having a polypeptide sequence in which up to 25%, preferably up to 20%, particularly preferably up to 15%, in particular up to 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1%, of the amino acid residues are modified with respect to AAN67066.1 by deletion, insertion, substitution or a combination thereof and which still has at least 10%, preferably 50%, particularly preferably 80%, in particular more than 90%, of the enzymatic activity of the enzyme having the reference sequence AAN67066.1.

The cells according to the invention can be prokaryotes or eukaryotes. They can be mammalian cells (such as human cells), plant cells or microorganisms such as yeasts, fungi or bacteria, with microorganisms being particularly preferred and bacteria and yeasts being most preferred. Furthermore, it is advantageous according to the invention when the cell according to the invention is a cell which, as wild type, is able to make polyhydroxyalkanoates having chain lengths of the monoalkanoate of from C₆ to C₁₆. Such cells are, for example, Burkholderia sp., Burkholderia thailandensis, Pseudomonas sp., Pseudomonas putida, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Pseudomonas oleovorans, Pseudomonas chloraphis, Pseudomonas stutzen, Pseudomonas fluorescens, Pseudomonas citronellolis, Pseudomonas resinovorans, Comamonas testosteroni, Aeromonas hydrophila, Cupriavidus necator, Alcaligenes latus and Ralstonia eutropha. In this context, preferred inventive cells are genetically modified such that they, compared to the wild type thereof, are able to make fewer polyhydroxyalkanoates.

Within the bacteria group, particular preference is given to, in particular, Pseudomonas putida, Escherlchia coli and Burkholderia thailandensis.

The starting strains of the cells according to the invention can be natural rhamnolipid producers, those cells which already produce rhamnolipids as wild type, or cells in which rhamnolipid production has only been made possible by gene technology.

In both cases, cells preferred according to the invention benefit from the fact that they have been genetically modified such that they, compared to the wild type thereof, have an increased activity of at least one of the enzymes selected from the group E₂, E₃ and E₄, the enzyme E₂ being able to catalyse the conversion of 3-hydroxyalkanoyl-ACP via 3-hydroxyalkanoyl-3-hydroxyalkanoic acid-ACP to hydroxyalkanoyl-3-hydroxyalkanoic acid, the enzyme E₃ being a rhamnosyltransferase I and being able to catalyse the conversion of dTDP-rhamnose and 3-hydroxyalkanoyl-3-hydroxyalkanoate to α-L-rhamnopyranosyl-3-hydroxyalkanoyl-3-hydroxyalkanoate, and the enzyme E₄ being a rhamnosyltransferase II and being able to catalyse the conversion of dTDP-rhamnose and α-L-rhamnopyranosyl-3-hydroxyalkanoyl-3-hydroxyalkanoate to α-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1-2)-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl-3-hydroxyalkanoyl-3-hydroxyalkanoate.

Enzyme E₂ is preferably selected from enzymes which are encoded by an rhlA gene and also enzymes having a polypeptide sequence in which up to 25%, preferably up to 20%, particularly preferably up to 15%, in particular up to 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1%, of the amino acid residues are modified with respect to the enzymes encoded by an rhlA gene by deletion, Insertion, substitution or a combination thereof and which still has at least 10%, preferably 50%, particularly preferably 80%, in particular more than 90%, of the enzymatic activity of the enzyme having the reference sequence of the enzymes encoded by an rhlA gene.

Enzyme E₃ is preferably selected from enzymes which are encoded by an rhlB gene and also enzymes having a polypeptide sequence in which up to 25%, preferably up to 20%, particularly preferably up to 15%, in particular up to 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1%, of the amino acid residues are modified with respect to the enzymes encoded by an rhlB gene by deletion, insertion, substitution or a combination thereof and which still has at least 10%, preferably 50%, particularly preferably 80%, in particular more than 90%, of the enzymatic activity of the enzyme having the reference sequence of the enzymes encoded by an rhlB gene.

Enzyme E₄ is preferably selected from enzymes which are encoded by an rhlC gene and also enzymes having a polypeptide sequence in which up to 25%, preferably up to 20%, particularly preferably up to 15%, in particular up to 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1%, of the amino acid residues are modified with respect to the enzymes encoded by an rhlC gene by deletion, insertion, substitution or a combination thereof and which still has at least 10%, preferably 50%, particularly preferably 80%, in particular more than 90%, of the enzymatic activity of the enzyme having the reference sequence of the enzymes encoded by an rhlC gene.

What is particularly preferred for E₂, E₃ and E₄:

-   -   enzyme E₂ is selected from the group consisting of,     -   at least one enzyme E_(2a) having polypeptide sequence         ADP06387.1, or having a polypeptide sequence in which up to 25%,         preferably up to 20%, particularly preferably up to 15%, in         particular up to 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1%, of the amino         acid residues are modified with respect to the reference         sequence ADP06387.1 by deletion, insertion, substitution or a         combination thereof and which still has at least 10%, preferably         50%, particularly preferably 80%, in particular more than 90%,         of the enzymatic activity of the enzyme having the reference         sequence ADP06387.1, enzymatic activity for an enzyme E_(2a)         being understood to mean the ability to convert         3-hydroxydecanoyl-ACP via 3-hydroxydecanoyl-3-hydroxydecanoic         acid-ACP to hydroxydecanoyl-3-hydroxydecanoic acid,     -   at least one enzyme E_(2b) having polypeptide sequence         AIP29471.1, CBI71021.1, NP_252169.1, ABR81106.1, YP_439272.1,         YP_111362.1, YP_110557.1, YP_105231.1, ZP_02461688.1,         ZP_02358949.1, ZP_01769192.1, ZP_04893165.1, ZP_02265387.2,         ZP_02511781.1, ZP_03456835.1, ZP_03794633.1, YP_990329.1,         ZP_02408727.1, YP_002908243.1, ZP_04884058.1, YP_004348703.1,         ZP_04905334.1, ZP_02376540.1, EGC99875.1, ZP_02907621.1,         YP_001811696.1, ZP_02466678.1, ZP_02891475.1, YP_776393.1,         YP_002234939.1, YP_001778804.1, YP_371314.1, ZP_04943305.1,         YP_623139.1, ZP_02417235.1 or ZP_04892059.1 or having a         polypeptide sequence in which up to 25%, preferably up to 20%,         particularly preferably up to 15%, in particular up to 10, 9, 8,         7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1%, of the amino acid residues are modified         with respect to the particular aforementioned accession number         by deletion, insertion, substitution or a combination thereof         and which still has at least 10%, preferably 50%, particularly         preferably 80%, in particular more than 90%, of the enzymatic         activity of the enzyme having the particular aforementioned         accession number, enzymatic activity for an enzyme E_(2b) being         understood to mean the ability to convert         3-hydroxytetradecanoyl-ACP via 3-hydroxytetradecanoyl         3-hydroxytetradecanoic acid-ACP to         hydroxytetradecanoyl-3-hydroxytetradecanoic acid,     -   enzyme E₃ is selected from the group consisting of,     -   at least one enzyme E_(3a) having polypeptide sequence         ADP06388.1, YP_001347032.1, CBI71029.1, YP_002439138.1,         CBI71031.1, NP_252168.1, CBI71034.1, CBI71028.1, AAA62129.1 or         ZP_04929750.1 or having a polypeptide sequence in which up to         25%, preferably up to 20%, particularly preferably up to 15%, in         particular up to 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1%, of the amino         acid residues are modified with respect to the particular         aforementioned accession number by deletion, insertion,         substitution or a combination thereof and which still has at         least 10%, preferably 50%, particularly preferably 80%, in         particular more than 90%, of the enzymatic activity of the         enzyme having the particular aforementioned accession number,         enzymatic activity for an enzyme E₃ being understood to mean the         ability to convert dTDP-rhamnose and         3-hydroxydecanoyl-3-hydroxydecanoic acid to         α-L-rhamnopyranosyl-3-hydroxydecanoyl-3-hydroxydecanoic acid, at         least one enzyme E_(3b) having polypeptide sequence AJY01590.1,         ABR84881.1, NP_252168.1, FN601364.1, YP_440074.1, ZP_05590657.1,         ZP_04520374.1, ZP_00438380.2, ZP_00438209.2, YP_001074761.1,         ZP_04811084.1, YP_110558.1, YP_111381.1, ZP_02492857.1,         YP_337248.1, YP_001061811.1, YP_105607.1, ZP_02371503.1,         ZP_02503962.1, ZP_03458839.1, ZP_02481690.1, ZP_03794834.1,         ZP_01769738.1, ZP_01769308.1, ZP_02358948.1, ZP_02487736.1,         ZP_02408758.1, YP_002234937.1, ZP_02891477.1, YP_001778806.1,         YP_623141.1, YP_838721.1, ZP_04943307.1, YP_776391.1,         YP_004348704.1, ZP_02907819.1, YP_371316.1, ZP_02389948.1,         YP_001811694.1, YP_002908244.1, ZP_02511808.1, ZP_02376542.1,         EGC99877.1, ZP_02451760.1 or ZP_02414414.1 or having a         polypeptide sequence in which up to 25%, preferably up to 20%,         particularly preferably up to 15%, in particular up to 10, 9, 8,         7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1%, of the amino acid residues are modified         with respect to the particular aforementioned accession number         by deletion, insertion, substitution or a combination thereof         and which still has at least 10%, preferably 50%, particularly         preferably 80%, in particular more than 90%, of the enzymatic         activity of the enzyme having the particular aforementioned         accession number, enzymatic activity for an enzyme E_(3b) being         understood to mean the ability to convert dTDP-rhamnose and         3-hydroxytetradecanoyl-3-hydroxytetradecanoic acid to         α-L-rhamnopyranosyl-3-hydroxytetradecanoyl-3-hydroxytetradecanoic         acid, and enzyme E₄ is selected from the group consisting of,     -   at least one enzyme E_(4a) having polypeptide sequence         NP_249821.1 or having a polypeptide sequence in which up to 25%,         preferably up to 20%, particularly preferably up to 15%, in         particular up to 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1%, of the amino         acid residues are modified with respect to the reference         sequence NP_249821.1 by deletion, insertion, substitution or a         combination thereof and which still has at least 10%, preferably         50%, particularly preferably 80%, in particular more than 90%,         of the enzymatic activity of the enzyme having the reference         sequence NP_249821.1, enzymatic activity for an enzyme E_(4a)         being understood to mean the ability to convert dTDP-rhamnose         and α-L-rhamnopyranosyl-3-hydroxydecanoyl-3-hydroxydecanoic acid         to         α-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1-2)-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl-3-hydroxydecanoyl-3-hydroxydecanoic         acid, at least one enzyme E_(4b) having polypeptide sequence         AJY02981.1, FN601387.1, FN601391.1 YP_440071.1, ZP_02375899.1,         ZP_02466676.1, YP_001075863.1, ZP_02408796.1, YP_335530.1,         ZP_01769176.1, YP_105609.1, ZP_01770887.1, ZP_04520873.1,         YP_110580.1, YP_001024014.1, ZP_03450125.1, YP_001061813.1,         YP_111359.1, ZP_004409942, ZP_03456926.1, ZP_02358948.1,         ZP_00438001.2, ZP_02461478.1, ZP_02503929.1, ZP_02511832.1,         YP_004348706.1, ZP_04898742.1, YP_002908248.1, ZP_02382844.1.         EGD05167.1, YP_001778808.1, YP_001811692.1, YP_002234935.1,         YP_371318.1, YP_623143.1, YP_776389.1, ZP_02891479.1,         ZP_02907617.1, ZP_02417424.1 or ZP_04898743.1 or having a         polypeptide sequence in which up to 25%, preferably up to 20%,         particularly preferably up to 15%, in particular up to 10, 9, 8,         7, 8, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1%, of the amino acid residues are modified         with respect to the particular aforementioned accession number         by deletion, insertion, substitution or a combination thereof         and which still has at least 10%, preferably 50%, particularly         preferably 80%, in particular more than 90%, of the enzymatic         activity of the enzyme having the aforementioned accession         number, enzymatic activity for an enzyme E_(4b) being understood         to mean the ability to convert dTDP-rhamnose and         α-L-rhamnopyranosyl-3-hydroxytetradecanoyl-3-hydroxytetradecanoic         acid to         α-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1-2)-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl-3-hydroxytetradecanoyl-3-hydroxytetradecanoic         acid.

It is clear that the activities specifically indicated above for the enzymes E_(2a) to E_(4b) are only a specific exemplary selection of a broader activity spectrum of the aforementioned enzymes; the activity mentioned in each case is that for which a reliable measurement method is available for a given enzyme. Thus, it is clear that an enzyme which converts a substrate having an unbranched, saturated C₁₀-alkyl radical will likewise convert—although possibly with reduced activity—those substrates having a C₆- or C₁₆-alkyl radical, which may possibly also be branched or unsaturated.

Cells preferred according to the invention are able, as wild type, to make no quantities or no detectable quantities of rhamnolipids and, furthermore, preferably have, as wild type, no activity or no detectable activity of the enzymes E₂, E₃ and E₄.

According to the invention, preference is given to cells which have increased activities of the following enzyme combinations:

-   -   E₂, E₃, E₄, E₂E₃, E₂E₄, E₃E₄ and E₂E₃E₄,     -   of which the combination     -   E₃, E₃E₄ and E₂E₃E₄, in particular E₂E₃E₄     -   is particularly preferred.

In a preferred embodiment of the cell according to the invention having an increased activity of the enzyme combination E₂E₃E₄, n is preferably =1.

In the context of the present invention, the term “Increased activity of an enzyme” is preferably to be understood to mean an increased intracellular activity.

In principle, an increase in the enzymatic activity can be achieved by increasing the copy number of the gene sequence(s) coding for the enzyme, by using a strong promoter or an improved ribosome binding site, by attenuating negative regulation of gene expression, for example using transcription regulators, or by enhancing positive regulation of gene expression, for example using transcription regulators, by altering the codon usage of the gene, by increasing in various ways the half-life of the mRNA or of the enzyme, by modifying the regulation of expression of the gene or by using a gene or allele coding for a corresponding enzyme with increased activity and by combining these measures as appropriate. The increase in the activity is preferably increased according to the invention by increasing the copy number of the gene sequence, which codes for the enzyme, in comparison to the wild type. The incorporation of a copy of a gene sequence, which was not previously present in the wild type, self-evidently corresponds to an increase in the copy number from 0 to 1.

Cells genetically modified according to the invention are generated, for example, by transformation, transduction, conjugation, or a combination of these methods, with a vector containing the desired gene, an allele of this gene or parts thereof and optionally a promoter enabling the gene to be expressed. Heterologous expression is achieved in particular by integrating the gene or alleles into the chromosome of the cell or an extrachromosomally replicating vector.

An overview of the options for increasing enzyme activity in cells is given for pyruvate carboxylase by way of example in DE-A-100 31 999, which is hereby incorporated by way of reference and whose disclosure forms part of the disclosure of the present invention regarding the options for increasing enzyme activity in cells.

Expression of the enzymes or genes specified above and all enzymes or genes specified below is detectable with the aid of 1- and 2-dimensional protein gel separation and subsequent optical identification of the protein concentration in the gel using appropriate evaluation software. If the increase in an enzyme activity is based exclusively on an increase in expression of the corresponding gene, the increase in said enzyme activity can be quantified in a simple manner by comparing the 1- or 2-dimensional protein separations between wild type and genetically modified cell. A customary method of preparing protein gels in the case of coryneform bacteria and of identifying said proteins is the procedure described by Hermann et al. (Electrophoresis, 22: 171223 (2001)). Protein concentration can likewise be analysed by Western blot hybridization using an antibody specific for the protein to be detected (Sambrook et al., Molecular Cloning: a laboratory manual, 2nd Ed. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y. USA, 1989) and subsequent optical evaluation using appropriate software for determination of concentration (Lohaus and Meyer (1989) Biospektrum, 5: 32-39; Lottspeich (1999) Angewandte Chemie 111: 2630-2647). The activity of DNA-binding proteins can be measured by means of DNA band shift assays (also referred to as gel retardation) (Wilson et al. (2001) Journal of Bacteriology, 183: 2151-2155). The effect of DNA-binding proteins on the expression of other genes can be detected by various well-described reporter gene assay methods (Sambrook et al., Molecular Cloning: a laboratory manual, 2nd Ed. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y. USA, 1989). Intracellular enzymatic activities can be determined by various described methods (Donahue et al. (2000) Journal of Bacteriology 182 (19): 5624-5827; Ray et al. (2000) Journal of Bacteriology 182 (8): 2277-2284; Freedberg et al. (1973) Journal of Bacteriology 115 (3): 816-823). If no specific methods for determining the activity of a particular enzyme are stated in the explanations below, the increase in enzyme activity and also the decrease in an enzyme activity are preferably determined by means of the methods described in Hermann et al., Electophoresis, 22: 1712-23 (2001), Lohaus et al., Biospektrum 5 32-39 (1998), Lottspeich, Angewandte Chemie 111: 2630-2647 (1999) and Wilson et al., Journal of Bacteriology 183: 2151-2155 (2001).

If the increase in the enzyme activity is accomplished by mutation of the endogenous gene, such mutations can either be generated in a non-directed manner according to classical methods, for example by UV radiation or by chemicals which cause mutation, or specifically by means of genetic engineering methods such as deletion(s), insertion(s) and/or nucleotide substitution(s). Modified cells are obtained by these mutations. Particularly preferred mutants of enzymes are also particularly those enzymes which are no longer subject to feedback, product or substrate inhibition, or at least less so compared to the wild type enzyme.

If the increase in the enzyme activity is accomplished by increasing the synthesis of an enzyme, the copy number of the relevant genes, for example, is increased or the promoter and regulatory region or the ribosomal binding site, which is located upstream of the structural gene, is mutated. Expression cassettes which are incorporated upstream or the structural gene have a similar effect. Additionally, by means of inducible promoters, it is possible to increase expression at any desired time. Furthermore, however, so-called “enhancers” can also be assigned to the enzyme gene as regulatory sequences, which likewise cause increased gene expression via improved interaction between RNA polymerase and DNA. Expression is also improved by measures to prolong the lifetime of the mRNA. Moreover, enzyme activity is also intensified by preventing the degradation of the enzyme protein. Here, the genes or gene constructs are present either in plasmids of different copy number or are integrated in the chromosome and amplified. Alternatively, moreover, overexpression of the relevant genes can be achieved by modification of the medium composition and culturing. Instructions in relation thereto can be found by a person skilled in the art in, inter alia, Martin et al. (Bio/Technology 5, 137-146 (1987)), in Guerrero et al. (Gene 138, 35-41 (1994)), Tsuchiya and Morinaga (Bio/Technology 8, 428-430 (1988)), in Eikmanns et al. (Gene 102, 93-98 (1991)), in EP-A-0 472 869, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,601,893, in Schwarzer and Pühler (Bio/Technology 9, 84-87 (1991)), in Reinscheld et al. (Applied and Environmental Microbiology 60, 126-132 (1994)), in LaBarre et al. (Journal of Bacteriology 175, 1001-1007 (1993)), in WO-A-96/15246, in Malumbres et al. (Gene 134, 15-24 (1993)), in JP-A-10-229891, in Jensen and Hammer (Biotechnology and Bioengineering 58, 191-195 (1998)) and in known genetics and molecular biology textbooks. The measures described above, like the mutations, also result in genetically modified cells.

To increase the expression of the particular genes, episomal plasmids, for example, are used. In principle, as plasmids or vectors, all embodiments available to those skilled in the art for this purpose are possible. Such plasmids and vectors can, for example, be inferred from the brochures of Novagen, Promega, New England Biolabs, Clontech or Gibco BRL. Further preferred plasmids and vectors can be found in: Glover, D. M. (1985) DNA cloning: a practical approach, Vol. I-III, IRL Press Ltd., Oxford; Rodriguez, R. L. and Denhardt, D. T (eds) (1988) Vectors: a survey of molecular cloning vectors and their uses, 179-204, Butterworth, Stoneham; Goeddel, D. V. (1990) Systems for heterologous gene expression, Methods Enzymol. 185, 3-7; Sambrook, J.; Fritsch, E. F. and Maniatis. T. (1989), Molecular cloning: a laboratory manual, 2nd ed., Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, New York.

The plasmid vector which contains the gene to be amplified is then transferred into the desired strain by conjugation or transformation. The method of conjugation is described, for example, in Schäfer et al., Applied and Environmental Microbiology 60: 756-759 (1994). Methods for transformation are described, for example, in Thierbach et al., Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology 29: 356-362 (1988), Dunican and Shivnan, Bio/Technology 7:1067-1070 (1989) and Tauch et al., FEMS Microbiology Letters 123: 343-347 (1994). After homologous recombination by means of a “cross-over” event, the resulting strain comprises at least two copies of the gene concerned.

In the context of the present invention, the increase in the activity of an enzyme is achieved particularly preferably by an increase, compared to the wild-type cell. In the copy number of the region encoding the enzyme considered, especially in conjunction with a strong promoter, and, in the case of enzymes already present in the wild type, by using a stronger promoter compared to the one present in the wild-type gene.

The wording “an increased activity, compared to the wild type thereof, of an enzyme E_(x)” used above and in the explanations below should preferably always be understood to mean an activity of the particular enzyme E_(x) increased by a factor of at least 2, particularly preferably at least 10, further preferably at least 100, still further preferably at least 1000 and most preferably at least 10 000. Furthermore, the cell according to the invention which has “an increased activity, compared to the wild type thereof, of an enzyme E_(x)” in particular also includes a cell, the wild type of which has no or at least no detectable activity of this enzyme E_(x), and which only displays detectable activity of this enzyme E_(x) after increasing the enzyme activity, for example, by overexpression. In this context, the term “overexpression” or the wording “increase in expression” used in the explanations below also includes the case that a starting cell, for example a wild-type cell, displays no or at least no detectable expression and detectable synthesis of the enzyme E_(x) is only induced by recombinant methods.

Modifications of amino acid residues of a given polypeptide sequence which do not lead to a significant change in the properties and the function of the given polypeptide are known to the person skilled in the art. Thus, it is possible, for example, to interchange conserved amino acids; examples of such suitable amino acid substitutions are: Ala with Ser; Arg with Lys; Asn with Gln or His; Asp with Glu; Cys with Ser; Gln with Asn; Glu with Asp; Gly with Pro; His with Asn or Gin; Ile with Leu or Val; Leu with Met or Val; Lys with Arg or Gln or Glu; Met with Leu or lie; Phe with Met or Leu or Tyr; Ser with Thr; Thr with Ser; Trp with Tyr; Tyr with Trp or Phe; Val with Ile or Leu. It is also known that modifications in particular at the N or C terminus of a polypeptide in the form of, for example, amino acid insertions or deletions frequently do not have a significant influence on the function of the polypeptide.

The “amino acid identity” in connection with the enzymes used in the context of the invention is determined with the aid of known methods. In general, use is made of special computer programs with algorithms taking into account specific requirements.

Preferred methods for determining the identity initially generate the greatest alignment between the sequences to be compared. Computer programs for determining the identity include, but are not limited to, the GCG program package including

GAP (Deveroy, J. et al., Nucleic Acid Research 12 (1984), page 387), Genetics Computer Group University of Wisconsin, Medicine (WI), and BLASTP, BLASTN and FASTA (Altschul, S. et al., Journal of Molecular Biology 215 (1990), pages 403-410). The BLAST program can be obtained from the National Center For Biotechnology information (NCBI) and from other sources (BLAST Handbook, Altschul S. et al., NCBI NLM NIH Bethesda ND 22894; Altschul S. et al., above).

The known Smith-Waterman algorithm can likewise be used for determining the identities.

Preferred parameters for determining the “amino acid identity” are, when using the BLASTP program (Altschul, S. et al., Journal of Molecular Biology 215 (1990), pages 403-410):

-   -   Expect Threshold: 10     -   Word size: 3     -   Matrix: BLOSUM62     -   Gap costs: Existence: 11; Extension: 1     -   Compositional adjustments: Conditional compositional score         matrix adjustment

The above parameters are the default parameters for amino acid sequence comparison.

The GAP program is likewise suitable for use with the above parameters.

In the context of the present invention, an identity of 60% according to the above algorithm means 60% identity. The same applies to higher identities.

The activity of an enzyme can be determined by disrupting cells containing said activity in a manner known to a person skilled in the art, for example with the aid of a bead mill, a French press or an ultrasound disintegrator, and then removing intact cells, cell debris and disruption aids, such as glass beads for instance, by 10 minutes of centrifugation at 11 000×g and 4° C. Using the resulting cell-free crude extract, it is then possible to carry out enzyme assays with subsequent LC-ESI-MS detection of the products. Alternatively, the enzyme can be enriched or else purified to homogeneity in a manner known to a person skilled in the art by chromatographic methods (such as nickel-nitrilotriacetic acid affinity chromatography, streptavidin affinity chromatography, gel-filtration chromatography or ion-exchange chromatography).

It is trivial and only mentioned for the sake of completeness that, to determine an activity increased or reduced compared to the wild type of a cell, a wild type reference culture is used which has been exposed to the same conditions as the sample to be determined.

The activity of an enzyme E₁ is determined using cell-free extracts with the aid of the Colorimetric Glucose Dehydrogenase Assay Kit from Abcam (Art. #ab102532) in accordance with the requirements of the manufacturer.

The activity of the enzyme E₂ is determined using the crude cell-free extracts obtained as described above, as follows: A standard assay contains 100 μM E. coli ACP, 1 mM β-mercaptoethanol, 200 μM malonyl-coenzyme A, 40 μM octanoyl-coenzyme A (for E_(2a)) or dodecanoyl-coenzyme A (for E_(2b)), 100 μM NADPH, 2 μg of E. coli FabD, 2 μg of Mycobacterium tuberculosis FabH, 1 μg of E. coli FabG, 0.1 M sodium phosphate buffer, pH 7.0, and 5 μg of enzyme E₅ in a final volume of 120 μL. ACP, β-mercaptoethanol and sodium phosphate buffer are pre-incubated at 37° C. for 30 min in order to reduce the ACP completely. The reaction is started by addition of enzyme E₂. The reactions are stopped using 2 ml of water which has been acidified to pH 2.0 using HCl and then extracted twice using 2 ml of chloroform/methanol (2:1 (v:v)). Phase separation is carried out by centrifugation (16 100 g, 5 min, RT). The lower organic phase is removed, fully evaporated in a vacuum centrifuge, and the sediment is taken up in 50 μl of methanol. Undissolved constituents are sedimented by centrifugation (16 100 g, 5 min, RT) and the sample analysed by means of LC-ESI-MS. The products are identified by analysis of the corresponding mass traces and of the MS² spectra.

The activity of the enzyme E₃ is then determined using the cell-free crude extracts obtained as described above, as follows: A standard assay can consist of 185 μl of 10 mM Tris-HCl (pH 7.5), 10 μl of 125 mM dTDP-rhamnose and 50 μl of crude protein extract (approximately 1 mg of total protein) or purified protein in solution (5 μg of purified protein). The reaction is started by the addition of 10 μl of 10 mM ethanolic solution of 3-hydroxydecanoyl-3-hydroxydecanoic acid (for E_(3a)) or 3-hydroxytetradecanoyl-3-hydroxytetradecanoic acid (for E_(3b)) and incubated at 30° C. for 1 h with shaking (600 rpm). The reaction is then admixed with 1 ml of acetone. Undissolved constituents are sedimented by centrifugation (16 100 g, 5 min, RT) and the sample analysed by means of LC-ESI-MS. The products are identified by analysis of the corresponding mass traces and of the MS² spectra.

The activity of the enzyme E₄ is then determined using the crude cell-free extracts obtained as described above, as follows: A standard assay can consist of 185 μl of 10 mM Tris-HCl (pH 7.5), 10 μl of 125 mM dTDP-rhamnose and 50 μl of crude protein extract (approximately 1 mg of total protein) or purified protein in solution (5 μg of purified protein). The reaction is started by the addition of 10 μl of 10 mM ethanolic solution of α-L-rhamnopyranosyl-3-hydroxydecanoyl-3-hydroxydecanoic acid (for E_(4a)) or α-L-rhamnopyranosyl-3-hydroxytetradecanoyl-3-hydroxytetradecanoic acid (for E_(4b)) and incubated at 30° C. for 1 h with shaking (600 rpm). The reaction is then admixed with 1 ml of acetone. Undissolved constituents are sedimented by centrifugation (16 100 g, 5 min, RT) and the sample analysed by means of LC-ESI-MS. The products are identified by analysis of the corresponding mass traces and of the MS² spectra.

It is advantageous when, additionally with respect to E₁, the cell according to the invention has been genetically modified such that it, compared to the wild type thereof, has an increased activity, as given in detail below, of at least one of the enzymes selected from the group consisting of at least one enzyme E₅, a dTTP:α-D-glucose-1-phosphate thymidylyltransferase, EC 2.7.7.24, particularly selected from enzymes encoded by an rmlA or rfbA gene or having a polypeptide sequence in which up to 25%, preferably up to 20%, particularly preferably up to 15%, in particular up to 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1%, of the amino acid residues of the enzymes encoded by an rmlA or rfbA gene are modified by deletion, insertion, substitution or a combination thereof and which still has at least 10%, preferably 50%, particularly preferably 80%, in particular more than 90%, of the enzymatic activity of the enzyme encoded by an rmlA or rlbA gene, enzymatic activity for an enzyme E₅ being understood to mean the ability to convert α-D-glucose 1-phosphate and dTTP to dTDP-glucose,

-   -   at least one enzyme E₆, a dTDP-glucose 4,6-hydrolyase, EC         4.2.1.46, particularly selected from enzymes encoded by an rmlB         or rfbB gene or having a polypeptide sequence in which up to         25%, preferably up to 20%, particularly preferably up to 15%, in         particular up to 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1%, of the amino         acid residues of the enzymes encoded by an rmlB or rfbB gene are         modified by deletion, insertion, substitution or a combination         thereof and which still has at least 10%, preferably 50%,         particularly preferably 80%, in particular more than 90%, of the         enzymatic activity of the enzyme encoded by an rmlB or rfbB         gene, enzymatic activity for an enzyme E₆ being understood to         mean the ability to convert dTDP-glucose to         dTDP-4-dehydro-6-deoxy-D-glucose,     -   at least one enzyme E₇, a dTDP-4-dehydrorhamnose 3,5-epimerase,         EC 5.1.3.13, particularly selected from enzymes encoded by an         rmlC or rfbC gene or having a polypeptide sequence in which up         to 25%, preferably up to 20%, particularly preferably up to 15%,         in particular up to 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1%, of the amino         acid residues of the enzymes encoded by an rmlC or rfbC gene are         modified by deletion, insertion, substitution or a combination         thereof and which still has at least 10%, preferably 50%,         particularly preferably 80%, in particular more than 90%, of the         enzymatic activity of the enzyme encoded by an rmlC or rfbC         gene, enzymatic activity for an enzyme E₇ being understood to         mean the ability to convert dTDP-4-dehydro-6-deoxy-D-glucose to         dTDP-4-dehydro-6-deoxy-L-mannose and     -   at least one enzyme E₈, a dTDP-4-dehydrorhamnose reductase, EC         1.1.1.133, particularly selected from enzymes encoded by an rmlD         or rfbD gene or having a polypeptide sequence in which up to         25%, preferably up to 20%, particularly preferably up to 15%, in         particular up to 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1%, of the amino         acid residues of the enzymes encoded by an rmlD or rfbD gene are         modified by deletion, insertion, substitution or a combination         thereof and which still has at least 10%, preferably 50%,         particularly preferably 80%, in particular more than 90%, of the         enzymatic activity of the enzyme encoded by an rmlD or rfbD         gene, enzymatic activity for an enzyme E₈ being understood to         mean the ability to convert dTDP-4-dehydro-6-deoxy-L-mannose to         dTDP-6-deoxy-L-mannose.

The activity of the enzyme E₅ is determined using the samples obtained as described above for the enzymes E₂ to E₄, by incubating α-D-glucose 1-phosphate (1.3 mM) with dTTP (5 mM) and 5 μg of purified enzyme E₅ in 50 μl of sodium phosphate buffer, pH 8.5, and stopping the reaction after 5, 10 and 20 min of incubation at 30° C. by addition of 20 μl of chloroform. The mixture is then vortexed and centrifuged for 5 min at 16 000 g and room temperature. The aqueous phase is transferred to a new reaction tube and the organic phase re-extracted using 80 μl of water. Both aqueous phases are combined and analysed by HPLC. This involves using a Phenosphere ODS2 column (250×4.6 mm; Phenomenex, Torrance, USA) or a Spheresorb ODS2 column (250×4.6 mm; Waters, Milford, USA). The analytes are eluted using 0.5 M KH₂PO₄ (Eluent A) at a flow rate of 1 ml min⁻¹ for 15 min, followed by a linear gradient up to 80% Eluent A and 20% methanol over a period of 14 min at a flow rate of 0.7 ml min⁻¹. Analytes eluting from the ODS2 columns are then injected into a Phenosphere SAX ion-exchange column (250×4.6 mm; Phenomenex. Torrance, USA) and the analytes are eluted at a flow rate of 1 ml min⁻¹ and with a linear ammonium formate gradient (2 to 600 mM over 25 min). dTDP-glucose is then quantified via its UV absorption using a photodiode array detector (DAD). The absorption maximum of thymidine is 267 nm. Calibration is carried out using authentic nucleotide sugars (Sigma-Aldrich, St. Louis, USA).

The activity of the enzyme E₆ is then determined using the samples obtained as described above for the enzymes E₂ to E₄, by incubating dTDP-α-D-glucose (1.3 mM) with 5 μg of purified enzyme E₆ in 50 μl of sodium phosphate buffer, pH 8.5, and stopping the reaction after 5, 10 and 20 min of incubation at 30° C. by addition of 20 μl of chloroform. The mixture is then vortexed and centrifuged for 5 min at 16 000 g and room temperature. The aqueous phase is transferred to a new reaction tube and the organic phase re-extracted using 80 μl of water. Both aqueous phases are combined and analysed by HPLC. This involves using a Phenosphere ODS2 column (250×4.6 mm; Phenomenex, Torrance, USA) or a Spheresorb ODS2 column (250×4.6 mm; Waters, Milford, USA). The analytes are eluted using 0.5 M KH₂PO₄ (Eluent A) at a flow rate of 1 ml min⁻¹ for 15 min, followed by a linear gradient up to 80% Eluent A and 20% methanol over a period of 14 min at a flow rate of 0.7 ml min⁻¹. Analytes eluting from the ODS2 columns are then injected into a Phenosphere SAX ion-exchange column (250×4.6 mm; Phenomenex, Torrance, USA) and the analytes are eluted at a flow rate of 1 ml min⁻¹ and with a linear ammonium formate gradient (2 to 600 mM over 25 min). dTDP-glucose and dTDP-4-dehydro-6-deoxy-D-glucose are then quantified via their UV absorption using a photodiode array detector (DAD). The absorption maximum of thymidine is 267 nm. Calibration is carried out using authentic nucleotide sugars (Sigma-Aldrich, St. Louis, USA).

The activity of the enzyme E₇ is then determined using the samples obtained as described above for the enzymes E₂ to E₄, by first incubating dTDP-α-D-glucose (1.3 mM) with 5 μg of purified enzyme E₆ in 50 μl of sodium phosphate buffer, pH 8.5, for 10 min at 30° C. Thereafter, 0.5 μg of purified enzyme E₇ is added, and the reaction is stopped after 5, 10 and 20 min of incubation at 30° C. by addition of 20 μl of chloroform. The mixture is then vortexed and centrifuged for 5 min at 16 000 g and room temperature. The aqueous phase is transferred to a new reaction tube and the organic phase re-extracted using 80 μl of water. Both aqueous phases are combined and analysed by HPLC. This involves using a Phenosphere ODS2 column (250×4.8 mm; Phenomenex, Torrance, USA) or a Spheresorb ODS2 column (250×4.6 mm; Waters, Milford, USA). The analytes are eluted using 0.5 M KH₂PO₄ (Eluent A) at a flow rate of 1 ml min⁻¹ for 15 min, followed by a linear gradient up to 80% Eluent A and 20% methanol over a period of 14 min at a flow rate of 0.7 ml min⁻¹. Analytes eluting from the ODS2 columns are then injected into a Phenosphere SAX ion-exchange column (250×4.6 mm; Phenomenex, Torrance, USA) and the analytes are eluted at a flow rate of 1 ml min⁻¹ and with a linear ammonium formate gradient (2 to 600 mM over 25 min). dTDP-glucose, dTDP-4-dehydro-6-deoxy-D-glucose and dTDP-6-deoxy-L-mannose are then quantified via their UV absorption using a photodiode array detector (DAD). The absorption maximum of thymidine is 267 nm. Calibration is carried out using authentic nucleotide sugars (Sigma-Aldrich, St. Louis, USA).

The activity of the enzyme E₈ is then determined using the samples obtained as described above for the enzymes E₂ to E₄, by first incubating dTDP-α-D-glucose (1.3 mM) with 5 μg of purified enzyme E₈ in 50 μl of sodium phosphate buffer, pH 8.5, for 10 min at 30° C. Thereafter, 5 μg of purified enzyme E₇ and 0.5 μg of purified enzyme E₈ and also NADPH (10 mM) are added, and the reaction is stopped after 5, 10 and 20 min of incubation at 30° C. by addition of 20 μl of chloroform. The mixture is then vortexed and centrifuged for 5 min at 16 000 g and room temperature. The aqueous phase is transferred to a new reaction tube and the organic phase re-extracted using 80 μl of water. Both aqueous phases are combined and analysed by HPLC. This involves using a Phenosphere ODS2 column (250×4.6 mm; Phenomenex, Torrance, USA) or a Spheresorb ODS2 column (250×4.6 mm; Waters, Milford, USA). The analytes are eluted using 0.5 M KH₂PO₄ (Eluent A) at a flow rate of 1 ml min⁻¹ for 15 min, followed by a linear gradient up to 80% Eluent A and 20% methanol over a period of 14 min at a flow rate of 0.7 ml min⁻¹. Analytes eluting from the ODS2 columns are then injected into a Phenosphere SAX ion-exchange column (250×4.6 mm; Phenomenex, Torrance, USA) and the analytes are eluted at a flow rate of 1 ml min⁻¹ and with a linear ammonium formate gradient (2 to 600 mM over 25 min). dTDP-glucose, dTDP-4-dehydro-6-deoxy-D-glucose, dTDP-8-deoxy-L-mannose and dTDP-4-dehydro-6-deoxy-L-mannose are then quantified via their UV absorption using a photodiode array detector (DAD). The absorption maximum of thymidine is 267 nm. Calibration is carried out using authentic nucleotide sugars (Sigma-Aldrich, St. Louis, USA).

According to the invention, preference is given to cells which have increased activities of the following enzyme combinations:

-   -   E₅E₆, E₅E₇, E₅E₈, E₆E₇, E₆E₈, E₇E₈, E₅E₆E₇, E₅E₆E₈, E₆E₇E₈,         E₅E₇E₈, E₅E₆E₇E₈,     -   of which the combination     -   E₅E₆E₇E₈     -   is particularly preferred.

Particularly preferably, the increased activities of the aforementioned enzyme combinations can be combined with those of the above-described enzymes E₂ to E₄, wherein the combination

-   -   E₂E₃E₄E₅E₆E₇E₈     -   is particularly preferred.

It is further advantageous and thus preferred when, additionally with respect to E₁, the cell according to the invention has been genetically modified such that it, compared to the wild type thereof, has an increased activity of at least one enzyme E₉, which is a glucose transporter. Particularly preferably, use is made here of glucose transporters that are foreign to the cell according to the invention, therefore those that are not present in the wild-type genome.

Preferred enzymes E₉ are particularly selected from enzymes encoded by a galP, glf, iolT1, glcP, gluP, SemiSWEET or glcU gene and PTS systems (consisting of the components enzyme I, HPr, enzyme IIA, enzyme IIB and enzyme IIC, it being possible for enzymes IIA, IIB and IIC to be present as fusion proteins) or enzymes having a polypeptide sequence in which up to 25%, preferably up to 20%, particularly preferably up to 15%, in particular up to 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1%, of the amino acid residues of the galP, glf, iolT1, glcP, gluP, SemiSWEET or glcU gene-encoded enzymes and PTS systems are modified by deletion, insertion, substitution or a combination thereof and which still has at least 10%, preferably 50%, particularly preferably 80%, in particular more than 90%, of the enzymatic activity of the galP, glf, iolT1, glcP, gluP, SemiSWEET or glcU gene-encoded enzyme and PTS system, enzymatic activity for an enzyme E₉ being understood to mean the ability to get 2-(N-(7-nitrobenz-2-oxa-1,3-diazol-4-yl)amino)-2-deoxyglucose (2-NBDG) into the cell.

For the aforementioned polypeptide sequences, the iolT1 gene is especially that from C. glutamicum, the glcP gene is especially one from M. smegmatis, S. frigidimarina or S. amazonensis, the gluP gene is especially that from B. abortus, the SemiSWEET gene is that from L. biflexa and the glcU gene is especially one from B. subtilis or S. xylosus.

The activity of the enzyme E₉ can be determined with the aid of the Glucose Uptake Cell-Base Assay Kit. Item No. 600470 from Cayman Chemicals, specifically in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions dated 9 Oct. 2015.

In conjunction with the increased activity of at least one enzyme E₉, it may be advantageous according to the invention and thus preferred when the cell according to the invention has, as wild type, an enzyme E₁₀, an ABC glucose transporter, and is characterized in that it has been genetically modified such that it, compared to the wild type thereof, has a decreased activity of the enzyme E₁₀, which gets 2-(N-(7-nitrobenz-2-oxa-1,3-diazol-4-yl)amino)-2-deoxyglucose (2-NBDG) into the cell. The activity of the enzyme E₁₀ can be determined as described above for E₉. It is clear to a reasonable person skilled in the art that, to this end, cells merely differing in the genetic modification directly directed towards the decrease in activity of E₁₀ are directly compared with one another in order to determine whether there is a difference in activity.

Particularly preferably, the modified activities of the aforementioned enzymes are in the combinations

-   -   E₂E₃E₄E₉E₁₀, E₅E₆E₇E₈E₉E₁₀ and E₂E₃E₄E₅E₆E₇E₈E₉E₁₀, wherein     -   E₂E₃E₄E₅E₆E₇E₈E₉E₁₀ is particularly preferred.

Furthermore, it is advantageous according to the invention when the cell according to the invention is a cell which, as wild type, is able to make polyhydroxyalkanoates having chain lengths of the monoalkanoate of from C₈ to C₁₈. Such cells are, for example, Burkholderia sp., Burkholderia thailandensis, Pseudomonas sp. Pseudomonas putida, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Pseudomonas oleovorans, Pseudomonas stutzeri, Pseudomonas fluorescens, Pseudomonas citronellolis, Pseudomonas resinovorans, Comamonas testosteroni, Aeromonas hydrophila, Cupriavidus necator, Alcaligenes latus and Ralstonia eutropha. In this context, preferred inventive cells are genetically modified such that they, compared to the wild type thereof, are able to make fewer polyhydroxyalkanoates.

Such cells are, for example, described in Ren et al., Journal Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology 1998 June, 49(6):743-50 as GPp121, GPp122, GPp123 and GPp124, in Huisman et al., J Biol Chem. 1991 Feb. 5; 266(4):2191-8 as GPp104 and in De Eugenio et al., Environ Microbiol. 2010, 12(1):207-21 as KT42C1 and in Ouyang et al. Macromol Biosci. 2007, 7(2):227-33 as KTOY01 and KTOY02.

Such a cell able to make fewer polyhydroxyalkanoates, compared to the wild type thereof, is in particular characterized in that it has, compared to the wild type thereof, a decreased activity of at least one enzyme E₁₁,

-   -   E₁₁ being a polyhydroxyalkanoate synthase of EC:2.3.1.-,         preferably encoded by a phaC gene, especially a phAc1 or phaC2         gene, or having a polypeptide sequence in which up to 25%,         preferably up to 20%, particularly preferably up to 15%, in         particular up to 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1%, of the amino         acid residues of the enzymes encoded by a phaC gene, especially         a phAc1 or phaC2 gene, are modified by deletion, insertion,         substitution or a combination thereof and which still has at         least 10%, preferably 50%, particularly preferably 80%, in         particular more than 90%, of the enzymatic activity of the         enzyme encoded by a phaC gene, especially a phAc1 or phaC2 gene,         enzymatic activity for an enzyme E₁₁ being understood to mean         the ability to convert 3-hydroxyalkanoyl-coenzyme A to         poly-3-hydroxyalkanoic acid, especially         3-hydroxydecanoyl-coenzyme A to poly-3-hydroxydecanoic acid.

Particularly preferred enzymes E₁₁ are selected from the enzymes having polypeptide sequence AAM63407.1 or AAM63409.1 or having a polypeptide sequence in which up to 25%, preferably up to 20%, particularly preferably up to 15%, in particular up to 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1%, of the amino acid residues are modified with respect to the particular aforementioned accession number by deletion, insertion, substitution or a combination thereof and which still has at least 10%, preferably 50%, particularly preferably 80%, in particular more than 90%, of the enzymatic activity of the enzyme having the particular aforementioned accession number.

The activity of the enzyme E₁₁ can be determined spectrophotometrically. After addition of all components, the assay mixture contains 108 mM potassium phosphate buffer (pH 6.0 at 25° C.), 33 mM sodium gluconate, 0.22 mM 2,6-dichlorophenolindophenol (sodium salt), 1.3 mM phenazine methosulphate and 0.005% (w/v) bovine serum albumin. The assay mixture is equilibrated at 25° C. until the absorption at 600 nm stays constant. The reaction is then started by addition of cell-free extracts containing the activity to be measured and the decline in absorption is recorded at 600 nm and 25° C. for about 5 minutes. The concentration of 2,6-dichlorophenolindophenol is determined spectrophotometrically, assuming a molar absorption coefficient of 10 mM⁻¹ cm⁻¹ at 600 nm. An enzyme activity of 1 unit is defined as the amount of enzyme leading to the reduction of 1.0 μmol of 2,6-dichlorophenolindophenol per minute at 25° C. and pH 6.0.

It is further advantageous and thus preferred when, additionally with respect to E₁, the cell according to the invention has been genetically modified such that it, compared to the wild type thereof, has a decreased activity of at least one enzyme E₁₂, which is a gluconate 2-dehydrogenase of EC 1.1.1.215.

Preferred enzymes E₁₂ are particularly selected from enzymes encoded by a gad gene or having a polypeptide sequence in which up to 25%, preferably up to 20%, particularly preferably up to 15%, in particular up to 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1%, of the amino acid residues of the enzymes encoded by a gad gene are modified by deletion, insertion, substitution or a combination thereof and which still has at least 10%, preferably 50%, particularly preferably 80%, in particular more than 90%, of the enzymatic activity of the enzyme encoded by a gad gene, enzymatic activity for an enzyme E₁₂ being understood to mean the ability to convert gluconate to 2-dehydrogluconate.

The activity of the enzyme E₁₂ can be determined by quantification of the coenzyme A (CoA) released in the polymerization of 3-hydroxydecanoyl-coenzyme A. The assay mixture contains 2 mM 3-hydroxydecanoyl-CoA, 40 mM potassium phosphate buffer (pH 7.5), 10 mM 5.5′-dithiobis(2-nitrobenzoic acid) (DTNB) and 1 mg/ml bovine serum albumin. The reaction is started by addition of cell-free extracts containing the activity to be measured and the absorption is recorded at 412 nm and 30° C. The concentration of CoA is determined spectrophotometrically, assuming a molar absorption coefficient of 13 600 M⁻¹ cm⁻¹ at 412 nm. An enzyme activity of 1 unit is defined as the amount of enzyme leading to the release of 1.0 μmol of CoA per minute at 30° C. and pH 7.5.

It is further advantageous and thus preferred when, additionally with respect to E₁, the cell according to the invention has been genetically modified such that it, compared to the wild type thereof, has an increased activity of at least one enzyme E₁₃, which catalyses the export of a rhamnolipid of the general formula (I) from the cell into the surrounding medium.

In the case of cells preferred according to the invention, E₁₃ is selected from the group consisting of enzymes E₁₃ having polypeptide sequence AAG04520.1, AJY02996.1, ZP_05590681.1, YP_439278.1, YP_440069.1, ZP_04969301.1, ZP_04520234.1, YP_335528.1, YP_001075859.1, YP_001061817.1, ZP_02487499.1, YP_337251.1, ZP_04897712.1, ZP_04810190.1, YP_990322.1, ZP_02476924.1, ZP_04899735.1, ZP_04893873.1, ZP_02365982.1, YP_001062909.1, YP_105611.1, ZP_03794061.1, ZP_03457011.1, ZP_02385401.1, ZP_02370552.1, YP_105238.1, ZP_04905097.1, YP_776387.1, YP_001811690.1, YP_004348730.1, YP_004348708.1, YP_371320.1, YP_623145.1, YP_001778810.1, YP_002234933.1, CCE52909.1, YP_002908248.1, ZP_04954557.1, ZP_04958038.1, ZP_02408950.1, ZP_02375897.1, ZP_02389908.1, YP_439274.1, YP_001074782.1, YP_337247.1, YP_110559.1, ZP_02495927.1, YP_111380.1, YP_105808.1, ZP_02487826.1, ZP_02358947.1, YP_001078605.1, ZP_00438000.1, ZP_00440993.1, ZP_02477260.1, YP_371317.1, YP_001778807.1, ZP_02382843.1, YP_002234938.1, YP_623142.1, ZP_02907618.1, ZP_02891478.1, YP_776390.1, ZP_04943308.1, YP_001811693.1, ZP_02503985.1, YP_004382740.1, YP_002908245.1, YP_004348705.1, ZP_02408798.1, ZP_02417250.1, EGD05166.1, ZP_02458677.1, ZP_02485793.1, YP_001578240.1, ZP_04944344.1, YP_771932.1, ZP_02889166.1, YP_002232614.1, ZP_03574808.1, ZP_02906105.1, YP_001806764.1, YP_619912.1, YP_001117913.1, YP_106847.1, YP_001763388.1, ZP_02479535.1, ZP_02481743.1, YP_580998.1, YP_331651.1, ZP_04893070.1, YP_003806714.1, ZP_02503995.1, ZP_06840428.1, YP_104288.1, ZP_02487849.1, ZP_02353848.1, YP_367475.1, ZP_02377399.1, ZP_02372143.1, YP_001897582.1, ZP_02381066.1, YP_440582.1, ZP_03268453.1, AET90544.1, YP_003908738.1, YP_004230049.1, ZP_02885418.1, CDH72316.1, WP_001297013.1, WP_010955775.1, WP_010955671.1, WP_010955672.1, WP_010955673.1, WP_010952401.1, WP_010952402.1, WP_010952403.1, WP_010952855.1, WP_010954573.1, WP_010954631.1, WP_010954632.1, WP_010954404.1, WP_004575310.1 or ZP_02511831.1 or having a polypeptide sequence in which up to 25%, preferably up to 20%, particularly preferably up to 15%, in particular up to 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1%, of the amino acid residues are modified with respect to the particular aforementioned accession number by deletion, insertion, substitution or a combination thereof and which still has at least 10%, preferably 50%, particularly preferably 80%, in particular more than 90%, of the enzymatic activity of the enzyme having the particular aforementioned accession number, enzymatic activity for an enzyme E₁₃ being understood to mean the ability to export a rhamnolipid of the general formula (I) from the cell into the surrounding medium.

The activity of the enzyme E₁₃ can then be determined using the crude cell-free extracts obtained as described above, by determining the amount of the enzyme E₁₃ made. This is based on the assumption that more enzyme E₁₃ per biomass unit is capable of exporting more rhamnolipid of the general formula (I) from the cell into the surrounding medium. Such a quantification can be carried out by immunological detection by means of antibodies specific for enzyme E₁₃ (see Kurien, T. B., Scofield. R. H (Eds.). Protein Blotting and Detection: Methods and Protocols. Methods in Molecular Biology, Vol. 536. 1st Ed., Humana Press. N.Y. USA, 2009) or by mass-spectrometry methods (see Schmidt, A., Kellermann, J. & Lottspeich, F. A novel strategy for quantitative proteornics using isotope-coded protein labels. Proteomics 5, 4-15 (2005)).

Alternatively, the activity of the enzyme E₁₃ can also be determined by carrying out uptake assays using radioactively labelled rhamnolipids and inside-out vesicles produced from the cells according to the invention. The general procedure is, for example, described in Nies DH. The cobalt, zinc, and cadmium efflux system CzcABC from Alcaligenes eutrophus functions as a cation-proton antiporter in Escherichia coli. J Bacteriol. 1995, 177(10):2707-12 or Lewinson O, Adler J, Poelarends G J, Mazurkiewicz P, Driessen A J, Bibi E. The Escherichia coli multidrug transporter MdfA catalyzes both electrogenic and electroneutral transport reactions. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2003 Feb. 18; 100(4):1667-72.

Particularly preferably, the modified activities of the aforementioned enzymes are in the combinations

-   -   E₂E₃E₄E₁₃, E₂E₃E₄E₉E₁₀E₁₃, E₅E₆E₇E₈E₉E₁₀ E₁₃ and         E₂E₃E₄E₅E₆E₇E₈E₉E₁₀E₁₃, wherein E₂E₃E₄E₅E₆E₇E₈E₉E₁₀E₁₃ is         particularly preferred.

Cells according to the invention can be advantageously used for producing rhamnolipids. Therefore, the invention further provides for the use of cells according to the invention for producing compounds of the general formula (I).

The present invention further provides a method for producing rhamnolipids, especially those of the general formula (I),

-   -   where     -   m=2, 1 or 0, in particular 1 or 0.     -   n=1 or 0, in particular 1.     -   R¹ and R²=mutually independently, Identical or different,         organic radical having 2 to 24, preferably 5 to 13, carbon         atoms, in particular optionally branched, optionally         substituted, particularly hydroxy-substituted, optionally         unsaturated, in particular optionally mono-, bi- or         tri-unsaturated, alkyl radical, preferably those selected from         the group consisting of pentenyl, heptenyl, nonenyl, undecenyl         and tridecenyl and (CH₂)_(o)—CHS where o=1 to 23, preferably 4         to 12,     -   comprising the method steps of     -   I) contacting the cell according to the invention with a medium         containing a carbon source     -   II) culturing the cell under conditions allowing the cell to         make rhamnolipid from the carbon source and     -   III) optionally isolating the rhamnolipids made.

The genetically modified cells according to the invention can be contacted with the culture medium and thus cultured in a continuous or discontinuous manner in a batch process or in a fed-batch process or repeated fed-batch process for the purposes of producing the aforementioned products. Also conceivable is a semi-continuous process, as described in GB-A-1009370. An overview of known cultivation methods is available in the textbook by Chmiel (“Bioprozesstechnik 1. Einführung in die Bioverfahrenstechnik” [Bioprocess technology 1. Introduction to Bioprocess Technology](Gustav Fischer Verlag, Stuttgart, 1991)) or in the textbook by Storhas (“Bioreaktoren und periphere Einrichtungen” [Bioreactors and Peripheral Devices] (Vieweg Verlag, Braunschweig/Wiesbaden, 1994)).

The culture medium to be used has to satisfy the demands of the particular strains in a suitable manner. Descriptions of culture media of various yeast strains are, for example, included in “Nonconventional yeast in biotechnology” (Ed. Klaus Wolf, Springer-Verlag Berlin, 1996).

The carbon source used can be carbohydrates such as, for example, glucose, sucrose, arabinose, xylose, lactose, fructose, maltose, molasses, starch, cellulose and hemicellulose, vegetable and animal oils and fats such as, for example, soya oil, safflower oil, arachis oil, hemp oil, jatropha oil, coconut fat, pumpkin seed oil, linseed oil, corn oil, poppy seed oil, evening primrose oil, olive oil, palm kernel oil, palm oil, rapeseed oil, sesame oil, sunflower oil, grape seed oil, walnut oil, wheatgerm oil and coconut fat, fatty acids, such as, for example, caprylic acid, capric acid, lauric acid, myristic acid, palmitic acid, palmitoleic acid, stearic acid, arachidonic acid, behenic acid, oleic acid, linoleic acid, linolenic acid, gamma-linolenic acid and the methyl or ethyl ester thereof and also fatty acid mixtures, mono-, dl- and triglycerides containing the fatty acids just mentioned, alcohols such as, for example, glycerol, ethanol and methanol, hydrocarbons such as methane, carbonaceous gases and gas mixtures, such as CO, CO₂, synthesis or flue gas, amino acids such as L-glutamate or L-valine or organic acids such as, for example, acetic acid. These substances may be used individually or as a mixture. Particular preference is given to the use of carbohydrates, especially of monosaccharides, oligosaccharides or polysaccharides, as the carbon source, as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,01,494 and 6,136,576, and of hydrocarbons, especially of alkanes, alkenes and alkynes and also the monocarboxylic acids derived therefrom and the mono-, dl- and triglycerides derived from said monocarboxylic acids, and of glycerol and acetate. Very particular preference is given to mono-, di- and triglycerides containing the esterification products of glycerol with caprylic acid, capric acid, lauric acid, myristic acid, palmitic acid, palmitoleic acid, stearic acid, arachidonic acid, behenic acid, oleic acid, linoleic acid, linolenic acid and/or gamma-linolenic acid.

A major advantage of the present invention is that the cells according to the invention are able to make rhamnolipids from the simplest carbon sources such as, for example, glucose, sucrose or glycerol, meaning that it is not necessary to provide longer-chain carbon sources in the medium during the method according to the invention. Thus, in the event of insufficient availability, it is advantageous that the medium in step I) of the method according to the invention contains no amounts or no detectable amounts of carboxylic acids having a chain length of greater than six carbon atoms or esters or glycerides derivable therefrom.

The nitrogen source used may be organic nitrogen-containing compounds such as peptones, yeast extract, meat extract, malt extract, corn steep liquor, soya bean meal and urea or inorganic compounds such as ammonium sulphate, ammonium chloride, ammonium phosphate, ammonium carbonate and ammonium nitrate, ammonia, ammonium hydroxide or aqueous ammonia. The nitrogen sources may be used individually or as a mixture.

The phosphorus source used may be phosphoric acid, potassium dihydrogen phosphate or dipotassium hydrogen phosphate or the corresponding sodium-containing salts. Furthermore, the culture medium must contain salts of metals such as, for example, magnesium sulphate or iron sulphate that are necessary for growth. Finally, essential growth substances such as amino acids and vitamins may be used in addition to the substances mentioned above. Moreover, suitable precursors may be added to the culture medium. The aforementioned starting materials may be added to the culture in the form of a single batch or be appropriately fed in during cultivation.

To control the pH of the culture, appropriate use is made of basic compounds such as sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, ammonia or aqueous ammonia or acidic compounds such as phosphoric acid or sulphuric acid. To control the evolution of foam, it is possible to use antifoams such as, for example, fatty acid polyglycol esters. To maintain the stability of plasmids, it is possible to add to the medium suitable selective substances such as, for example, antibiotics. In order to maintain aerobic conditions, oxygen or oxygenous gas mixtures, for example air, are introduced into the culture.

The temperature of the culture is normally more than 20° C., preferably more than 25° C., and it can also be more than 40° C., a cultivation temperature of 95° C., particularly preferably 90° C. and most preferably 80° C. advantageously not being exceeded.

In step III) of the method according to the invention, the rhamnolipids made by the cells can optionally be isolated from the cells and/or the culture medium, it being possible to use for the purposes of isolation all methods known to a person skilled in the art for isolating low-molecular-weight substances from complex compositions such as, for example, filtration, extraction, adsorption (chromatography) or crystallization.

Furthermore, the product phase contains remnants of biomass and various impurities, such as oils, fatty acids and other culture-medium constituents. The impurities are preferably removed in a solvent-free process. For example, the product phase can be diluted with water in order to facilitate pH adjustment. Product phase and aqueous phase can then be homogenized by transferring the rhamnolipids into a water-soluble form by lowering or raising the pH by means of acids or alkalis. Potentially, the solubilization of the rhamnolipids in the aqueous phase can be supported by incubation at relatively high temperatures, for example at from 60 to 90° C., and constant mixing. As a result of subsequent raising or lowering of the pH by means of alkalis or acids, the rhamnolipids can then be transferred into a water-insoluble form again, and so they can be easily separated from the aqueous phase. The product phase can then be additionally washed with water one or more times in order to remove water-soluble impurities.

Oil residues can, for example, be removed by extraction by means of suitable solvents, advantageously by means of organic solvents. An alkane such as, for example, n-hexane is preferred as solvent.

As an alternative to the above-described solvent-free process, the product can be removed from the aqueous phase using a suitable solvent, for example an ester such as, for example, ethyl acetate or butyl acetate. The stated extraction steps can be carried out in any desired order. Here, solvents are preferably used, in particular organic solvents. The preferred solvent is n-pentanol. The solvent is removed by, for example, distillation. Thereafter, the lyophilized product can be further purified, for example by means of chromatographic methods. Examples which can be mentioned at this point include precipitation using suitable solvents, extraction using suitable solvents, complexing, for example by means of cyclodextrins or cyclodextrin derivatives, crystallization, purification or isolation by means of chromatographic methods or transfer of the rhamnolipids into easily removable derivatives.

A particularly suitable rhamnolipid isolation procedure in method step III) comprises the method substeps of

-   -   A) transferring the rhamnolipids to an aqueous medium having a         pH of less than 6,     -   B) contacting the medium with at least one organic solvent to         obtain a multi-phase system and removing the aqueous phase,     -   C) increasing the pH to a pH of 6 or greater to obtain a         multi-phase organic system,     -   D) removing an organic phase enriched with rhamnolipid and     -   E) optionally further purifying the rhamnolipid.

A detailed description of how to carry out this preferred embodiment of method step III) is given in US20140148588.

The present invention likewise provides the rhamnolipids obtainable using the method according to the invention, especially also the above-described rhamnolipid mixtures obtainable using the method according to the invention.

Advantageously, the rhamnolipids and mixtures obtainable using the method according to the invention can be used in cleaning agents, in cosmetic or pharmaceutical formulations and in crop-protection formulations.

Thus, the present invention further provides for the use of the rhamnolipids obtained using the method according to the invention for producing cosmetic, dermatological or pharmaceutical formulations, crop-protection formulations and also care products and cleaning agents and surfactant concentrates.

The examples adduced hereinafter describe the present invention by way of example, without any intention that the invention, the scope of application of which is apparent from the entirety of the description, be restricted to the embodiments specified in the examples.

The following FIGURE is a component of the examples:

The FIGURE: Total yields of the strains PP-155 and PP-099 [Δgcd] in parallel experiments (runs #1-3) and comparison of the mean values

EXAMPLES Example 1 (not Inventive): Use was Made of Strain BS-PP-155 (P. putida KT2440 Δupp+pACYCATh5-{PrhaSR}[rhaSR_Ec](PrhaBAD)[rhlABC_Pa]{Talk}[araC_Ec]{ParaBAD}[rmlBDAC_Pa]{Talk}; Clone 1) Construction of the Strain BS-PP-155

For the heterologous expression of the genes rhlA, rhlB and rhlC and of the genes rmlB, rmlD, rmlA and rmlC, both from P. aeruginosa, the plasmid pACYCATh5-{PrhaSR}[rhaSR_Ec]{PrhaBAD}[rhlABC_Pa] {Talk} [araC_Ec] {ParaBAD}[rmlBDAC_Pa]{Talk} was constructed. The plasmid contains, firstly, a synthetic operon consisting of the genes rhlA and rhlB (encoding a rhamnosyltransferase 1) and rhlC (encoding a rhamnosyltransferase 2) from P. aeruginosa DSM1128 (SEQ ID No 1) and, secondly, an operon consisting of the genes rmlB (encoding a dTDP-D-glucose 4,6-dehydratase), rmlD (encoding a dTDP-4-dehydrorhamnose reductase), rmlA (encoding a glucose-1-phosphate thymidylyltransferase) and rmlC (encoding a dTDP-4-dehydrorhamnose 3,5-epimerase) from P. aeruginosa DSM 19880 (SEQ ID No 2). The genes rhlABC are under the control of the rhamnose-inducible P_(Rha) promoter the rmlBDAC genes are under the control of the arabinose-inducible P_(BAD) promoter. Situated downstream of the two operon structures is a terminator sequence (rmB T1T2). The rmlBDAC genes were amplified from genomic DNA from P. aeruginosa DSM19880 and the synthetic rhlABC operon was obtained by gene synthesis. The P_(Rha) promoter cassette (SEQ ID No 3) and P_(BAD) promoter cassette (SEQ ID No 4) and also the terminator sequence (SEQ ID No 5) were amplified from genomic E. coli DNA. Whereas the rhlABC genes are required for the synthesis of di-rhamnolipids, the rmlBDAC genes are needed for the provision of activated dTDP-L-rhamnose.

The vector is based on the plasmid pACYC184 (New England Biolabs, Frankfurt am Main, Germany) and bears a p15A origin of replication for replication in E. coli and a pVS1 origin of replication for replication in P. putida. The pVS1 origin of replication was amplified from the Pseudomonas plasmid pVS1 (Itoh Y. Watson J M, Haas D, Leisinger T, Plasmid 1984, 11(3), 206-20). The vector part and the DNA fragments were cloned using a commercially available in vitro DNA assembly kit (e.g. NEBuikder HiFi DNA Assembly Cloning Kit in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions (NEB; Frankfurt am Main, Germany)). Chemically competent E. coli 10 beta cells (NEB, Frankfurt am Main, Germany) were transformed in a manner known to a person skilled in the art. The correct insertion of the target genes was checked by restriction analysis and the authenticity of the introduced homologous regions confirmed by DNA sequencing. The size of the resulting plasmid pACYCATh5-{PrhaSR}[rhaSR_Ec]{PrhaBAD} [rhlABC_Pa] {Talk} [araC_Ec] {ParaBAD}[rmlBDAC_Pa]{Talk} (SEQ ID No 6) is 17 337 bp.

Thereafter, the plasmid was introduced into P. putida KT2440 Δupp. This strain is used as the starting strain for the construction of markerless gene deletions in P. putida (Graf & Altenbuchner, 2011, Applied and Environmental Microbiology, Vol 77. No. 15, 5549-5552, DOI:10.1128/AEM.05055-11). The method is based on a negative counter-selection system for P. putida, which utilizes the activity of uracil phosphoribosyltransferase and the sensitivity of P. putida towards the antimetabolite 5-fluorouracil. The deletion of the upp gene has no effect on rhamnolipid biosynthesis.

The transformation of P. putida KT2440 Δupp with the vector pACYCATh5-(PrhaSR) [rhaSR_Ec]{PrhaBAD} [rhlABC_Pa] {Talk}[araC_Ec](ParaBAD)[rmlBDAC_Pa]{Talk} was carried out as described in Iwasaki et al. (Iwasaki K, Uchlyama H, Yagi O, Kurabayashi, T, Ishizuka K, Takamura Y, Biosci. Biotech. Biochem. 1994. 58(5):851-854). The plasmid DNA from each of 10 clones was isolated and analysed. A strain bearing the plasmid was caged P. putida KT2440 Δupp pACYCATh5-{PrhaSR} [rhaSR_Ec]{PrhaBAD} [rhlABC_Pa] {Talk} [araC_Ec] {ParaBAD}[rmlBDAC_Pa]{Talk}.

The biotechnological production of surfactant was carried out in the 8-fold parallel fermentation system “DASGIP” from Eppendorf.

For the fermentation, 1 L reactors were used. The pH probes were calibrated by means of a two-point calibration with measurement solutions of pH 4.0 and pH 7.0. The reactors were filled with 300 mL of water and autoclaved for 20 min at 121° C. in order to ensure sterility. The water was removed the next morning in a clean bench and replaced with sterile fermentation medium (autoclaved: 2.2 g/L (NH₄)₂SO₄, 0.02 g/L NaCl, 0.4 g/L MgSO₄×7H₂O, 0.04 g/L CaCl₂×2H₂O, sterilized separately: 2 g/L KH₂PO₄, 15 g/L glucose, 10 mL/L trace element solution M12 [sterile-filtered: 0.2 g/L ZnSO₄×7H₂O, 0.1 g/L MnCl₂×4H₂O, 1.5 g/L Na₃ citrate×2H₂O, 0.1 g/L CuSO₄×5H₂O, 0.002 g/L NiCl₂×6H₂O, 0.003 g/L Na₂MoO₄×2H₂O, 0.03 g/L H₃BO₃, 1 g/L FeSO₄×7H₂O]). Subsequently, the pO₂ probes were calibrated by means of a one-point calibration (stirrer: 600 rpm/aeration: 10 sL/h air), and the feed, correcting agent and induction agent lines cleaned by means of cleaning-in-place. To this end, the hoses were flushed with 70% ethanol, then with 1 M NaOH, then with sterile demineralized water and finally filed with the particular media.

Using 100 μL from a cryoculture, the strain (P. putida KT2440 Δupp+pACYCATh5-{PrhaSR}[rhaSR_Ec]{PrhaBAD}[rhlABC_Pa]{Talk}[araC_Ec]{ParaBAD}[rmlBDAC_Pa]{Talk} was first grown overnight at 30° C. and 200 rpm for approximately 18 h in 25 mL of LB1 medium (10 g/L casein hydrolysate, 5 g/L yeast extract, 1 g/L NaCl) in a 250 mL baffled flask containing 50 mg/L kanamycin. After measurement of the optical density of the culture, 50 ml of sterile seed medium (autoclaved: 4.4 g/L Na₂HPO₄*2H₂O, 1.5 g/L KH₂PO₄, 1 g/L NH₄Cl, 10 g/L yeast extract, sterilized separately: 20 g/L glucose, 0.2 g/L MgSO₄*7H₂O, 0.006 g/L FeCl₃, 0.015 g/L CaCl₂, 1 mL/L trace element solution SL6 [sterile-filtered: 0.3 g/L H₃BO₃, 0.2 g/L CoCl₂×6H₂O, 0.1 g/L ZnSO₄×7H₂O, 0.03 g/L MnCl₂×4H₂O, 0.01 g/L CuCl₂×2H₂O, 0.03 g/L Na₂MoO₄×2H₂O, 0.02 g/L NiCl₂×6H₂O]) in a 500 mL baffled flask were inoculated from the LB preculture using a start OD₆₀₀ of 0.2 and incubated for approximately 7 h at 30° C. and 200 rpm. At an optical density of approximately OD₆₀₀ 8, the main culture was inoculated using a start OD₆₀₀ of 0.7.

In order to inoculate the reactors using an optical density of 0.7, approximately 26 mL were filed in a 30 mL syringe and the reactors were inoculated by means of a needle across a septum.

The following standard program was used:

DO regulator pH regulator Preset 0% Preset 0 ml/h P 0.1 P 5 Ti 300 s Ti 200 s Min  0% Min 0 mIL/h Max 100% Max 40 mL/h XO2 N (Rotation) from to (gas mixture) from to Growth and 0% 40% Growth and  0% 100% biotrans- 500 rpm 1500 rpm biotrans- 21%  21% formation formation F (gas flow rate) from to Growth and 35% 100% biotransformation 9 sL/h 72 sL/h Script Trigger 31% DO (1/60 h) activated Induction, 3 h after feed start rhamnose, arabinose Feed trigger 50% DO Feed rate 1.5 [mL/h]

pH was one-sidedly adjusted to pH 7.0 using ammonia (12.5%). During cultivation and biotransformation, the dissolved oxygen in the culture was kept constant at 30% via stirrer speed and aeration rate. The fermentation was carried out as a fed batch, where, from the feed start, the feeding with 2.5 g/Lh glucose by means of a 500 g/L glucose feed was triggered via a DO peak. The expression of the recombinantly introduced genes was induced 3 h after the feed start by the automatic addition of 0.2% (w/v) rhamnose and 0.2% (w/v) arabinose. The required amounts of induction sugar are based on the fermentation starting volume. For both sugars, 220 g/L stock solutions were used. The production of surfactant started from the time of induction. All online measurement data such as pH, DO, CTR, OTR, but also the flow rates and amount of the substrates such as ammonia solution for pH adjustment, the glucose feed or the inducer flow rates, were logged by the DASGIP fermentation system.

For fermentation analysis, a 10 mL syringe was used to draw and discard 2 mL as forerun from each vessel. This was followed once more by 8 mL for the actual analysis. Rhamnolipid content, glucose concentration and dry biomass were determined. The fermentation was ended after 65 h.

Rhamnolipid concentration was determined by means of HPLC. 100 μL of the fermentation sample were admixed with 900 μL of 70% (v/v) n-propanol in an Eppendorf tube and shaken at 30 Hz for 1 min in a Retsch mill. Thereafter, the sample was centrifuged at 13 000 rpm for 5 min and the supernatant transferred to a fresh Eppendorf tube. In the event of a further dilution being necessary, this was done using 55% n-propanol. All tubes were closed quickly in order to avoid evaporation. The samples were then transferred to HPLC vials and stored at −20° C. until measurement.

1 ml of acetone was charged in a 2 ml reaction tube using a positive displacement pipette (Combitip) and the reaction tube immediately closed to minimize evaporation. This was followed by the addition of 1 ml of culture broth. After vortexing of the culture broth/acetone mixture, said mixture was centrifuged for 3 min at 13 000 rpm, and 800 μl of the supernatant transferred to an HPLC vial.

An evaporative light scattering detector (Sedex LT-ELSD Model 85LT) was used for detection and quantification of rhamnolipids. The actual measurement was carried out using an Agilent Technologies 1200 Series (Santa Clara, California) and a Zorbax SB-C8 Rapid Resolution column (4.6×150 mm, 3.5 μm, Agilent). The injection volume was 5 μl and the method run time was 20 min. Aqueous 0.1% TFA (trifluoroacetic acid, solution A) and methanol (solution B) was used as mobile phase. The column temperature was 40° C. The ELSD (detector temperature 60° C.) and the DAD (diode array, 210 nm) served as detectors. The gradient used in the method was:

t Solution B % Flow rate [min] by volume [ml/min]  0.00  70% 1.00 15.00 100% 1.00 15.01  70% 1.00 20.00  70% 1.00

Dry biomass was determined by pipetting approximately 1 ml of the sample into a pre-weighed Eppendorf tube and determining the initial weight. Thereafter, the sample was admixed with approximately 1 mL of mains water, mixed, and centrifuged at 13 000 rpm for 5 min. The supernatant was discarded and the Eppendorf tube was coarsely wiped. 1 mL of mains water was added once more and resuspension was carried out at 30 Hz for 1 min in a Retsch mill. Thereafter, centrifugation was carried out at 13 000 rpm for 10 min, the supernatant was discarded, and the Eppendorf tube was then wiped dry, for example with cotton swabs, without biomass being taken from the Eppendorf tube at the same time. The samples were dried at 105° C. for 48 h and reweighed after cooling. A duplicate determination was carried out in each case.

Dry biomass calculation was then carried out in Excel:

${DBM} = {\frac{\left. {Back}{weight} \right.\sim{Tare}{weight}}{{{Initial}{weight}} - {{Tare}{weight}}} \cdot {1000\left\lbrack \frac{g}{L} \right\rbrack}}$

Glucose concentration was measured with the aid of a Roche Cedex Bio HT as specified by the manufacturer after centrifugation and sterile-filtration of a fermentation sample.

3 experiments are carried out, each in parallel to Example 2.

Example 2: Use was Made of the Strain BS-PP-099 (P. putida KT2440 ΔUpp ΔGcd+pACYCATh5-{PrhaSR}[rhaSR_Ec]{PrhaBAD}[rhlABC_Pa]{Talk}[araC_Ec]{ParaBAD}[rmlBDAC_Pa]{Talk})

Construction of a Vector for the Deletion of the gcd Gene in Pseudomonas putida KT2440 ΔUpp

A vector for the deletion of the gcd gene from P. putida KT2440 Δupp, encoding a glucose dehydrogenase, was prepared by PCR amplification of approximately 680 bp upstream and downstream of the gcd gene.

The following primers were used for the amplification of the homologous regions upstream and downstream of the gcd gene:

PCR 1: Region upstream of gcd 4*54 (SEQ ID No 7) 5′-GCCGCTTTGGTCCCGGGTTTCAAGCTCAGCGG-3′ 4*57 (SEQ ID No 8) 5′-AAGGCGCGATCGCGGGTTAGAAACTGCTCTGG-3′ PCR 2: Region downstream of gcd 4*56 (SEQ ID No 9) 5′-CCGCGATCGCGCCTTGTGTCGCGTTTC-3′ 4*55 (SEQ ID No 10) 5′-GCTTGCATGCCTGCAATGCCGTAGGCTTTGACC-3′

The following parameters were used for the PCR:

Denaturation: 98° C. 30 s Denaturation: 98° C. 10 s 30× Annealing: 62° C. 12 s 30× Elongation: 72° C. 22 s 30× Final elongation: 72° C. 5 min

For the amplification, the Phusion™ High-Fidelity Master Mix from NEB (Frankfurt am Main, Germany) was used according to the manufacturer's recommendations. 50 μl of each of the PCR reactions were then resolved on a 1% TAE agarose gel. The PCR, the agarose gel electrophoresis, ethidium bromide staining of the DNA and determination of the PCR fragment sizes were performed in a manner known to a person skilled in the art. PCR fragments of the expected size (PCR 1, 879 bp (SEQ ID No 11); PCR 2,682 bp, (SEQ ID No 12)) were amplified. The PCR products were purified using the “QIAquick PCR Purification KR” from Qiagen as specified by the manufacturer. Using the NEBuilder HiFi DNA Assembly Cloning Kit in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions (NEB; Frankfurt am Main, Germany), the purified PCR products were cloned into a BamHI- and Sbfl-cut pKOPp vector (SEQ ID No. 13). Chemically competent E. coli 10 beta cells (NEB, Frankfurt am Main, Germany) were transformed in a manner known to a person skilled in the art. The correct insertion of the target genes was checked by restriction analysis and the authenticity of the introduced homologous regions confirmed by DNA sequencing. The resultant knock-out vector was referred to as pKOPp_gcd (SEQ ID No. 14).

Construction of the Strain BS-PP-099

The construction of the strain P. putida KT2440 Δupp Δgcd was carried out with the aid of the plasmid pKOPp_gcd and a method described in Graf et al., 2011 (Graf N, Altenbuchner J, Appl. Environ. Microbiol., 2011, 77(15):5549; DOI: 10.1128/AEM.05055-11). The DNA sequence after the deletion of gcd is described in SEQ ID No. 15. The transformation of P. putida KT2440 Δupp Δgcd with the vector pACYCATh5-{PrhaSR}[haSR_Ec]{PrhaBAD}[rhlABC_Pa]{Talk}[araC_Ec]{ParaBAD}[rmlBDAC_Pa]{Talk} was carried out as described in Iwasaki et al. (Iwasaki K, Uchlyama H, Yagi O, Kurabayashi, T, Ishizuka K, Takamura Y, Bosci. Biotech. Biochem. 1994. 58(5):851-854). Thereafter, the cells were plated out on LB agar plates supplemented with kanamycin (50 μg/ml). The plasmid pACYCATh5-{PrhaSR} [rhaSR_Ec]{PrhaBAD}[rhlABC_Pa]{Talk}[araC_Ec]{ParaBAD}[rmlBDAC_Pa]{Talk}(SEQ ID No.6) has already been described in Example 1. The plasmid DNA from each of 10 clones was isolated and analysed by means of restriction analysis. A strain bearing the plasmid was called P. putida KT2440 Δupp Δgcd pACYCATh5-{PrhaSR}[haSR_Ec]{PrhaBAD}[rhlABC_Pa]{Talk} [araC_Ec]{ParaBAD}[rmlBDAC_Pa]{Talk}.

Technical realization was carried out as described in Example 1.

3 experiments were carried out, each in parallel to Example 1.

What was evaluated was the total yield, determined as the sum of biomass plus rhamnolipid made divided by glucose used and consumed.

As can be seen in the FIGURE, a P. putida strain containing not only rhlA, rhlB and rhlC but also the native gene for glucose dehydrogenase achieves a total yield of 0.258 [(g biomass+g RL)/g glucose] on average. By comparison, the strain with deletion of the god gene achieves a total yield of 0.283 [(g biomass+g RL)/g glucose] on average.

Example 3: Construction of the Strain Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 Δgcd

The construction of the strain P. aeruginosa PAO1 Δgcd is carried out with the aid of a method described in Choi & Schweizer (Choi & Schweizer, MBC Microbiology, 2005 5:30, DOI: 10.1188/1471-2180-5-30). The method allows the production of markerless gene deletions in P. aeruginosa and is based on a negative counter-selection system (sacB) using homologous recombination and an Flp-FRT recombination system for the removal of the selection marker. The DNA sequence after the deletion of gcd is described in SEQ ID No. 16. Technical realization is carried out as described in Example 1 with the exception that all cultivation steps are carried out at 37° C.

3 experiments are carried out, each in parallel to the strain P. aeruginosa PAO1.

What is evaluated is the total yield, determined as the sum of biomass plus rhamnolipid made divided by glucose used and consumed. The P. aeruginosa strain still containing the native gene for glucose dehydrogenase achieves on average a lower total yield [(g biomass+g RL)/g glucose] compared to the strain having the deletion of the gcd gene.

Example 4 (not Inventive): Use is Made of the Strain P. putida KT2440 ΔUpp+pACYCATh5-{PrhaSR}[rhaSR_Ec]{PrhaBAD}[rhLAB_Pa]{Talk}[araC_Ec]{ParaBAD}[rmlBDAC_Pa]{Talk}; Clone 1) Construction of the Strain:

For the heterologous expression of the genes rhlA and rhlB and of the genes rmlB, rmlD, rmlA and rmlC, both from P. aeruginosa, the plasmid pACYCATh5-{PrhaSR}[rhaSR_Ec]{PrhaBAD} [rhlAB_Pa] {Talk} [araC_Ec] {ParaBAD}[rmlBDAC_Pa]{Talk} is constructed. The plasmid contains, firstly, an operon consisting of the genes rhlA and rhlB (encoding a rhamnosyltransferase 1) from P. aeruginosa DSM1128 (SEQ ID No 17) and, secondly an operon consisting of the genes rmlB (encoding a dTDP-D-glucose 4,6-dehydratase), rmlD (encoding a dTDP-4-dehydrorhamnose reductase), rmlA (encoding a glucose-1-phosphate thymidylyltransferase) and rmlC (encoding a dTDP-4-dehydrorhamnose 3,5-epimerase) from P. aeruginosa DSM 19880 (SEQ ID No 2). The rhlAB genes are under control of the rhamnose-inducible P_(Rha) promotor, the rmlBDAC genes are under the control of the arabinose-inducible P_(BAD) promotor. Situated downstream of the two operon structures is a terminator sequence (rmB T1T2). Whereas the rhlAB genes are required for the synthesis of monorhamnolipids, the rmlBDAC genes are needed for the provision of activated dTDP-L-rhamnose.

The vector is based on the plasmid pACYCATh5-{PrhaSR}[rhaSR_Ec]{PrhaBAD} [rhlABC_Pa] {Talk} [araC_Ec]{ParaBAD}[rmlBDAC_Pa]{Talk} (SEQ ID No 6) (see Example 1). To remove the rlhC gene, the vector was cut with Pacl and Nsil. In addition to rhlC, a section upstream and downstream of rhlC is also eliminated by the restriction. These missing regions are amplified by PCR. The template used is the plasmid pACYCATh5-{PrhaSR}[rhaSR_Ec]{PrhaBAD} [rhlABC_Pa] {Talk} [araC_Ec] {ParaBAD}[rmlBDAC_Pa]{Talk} (SEQ ID No 6) (see Example 1). The vector part and both PCR fragments are then cloned using a commercially available in vitro DNA assembly kit (e.g. NEBulider HiFi DNA Assembly Cloning Kit in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions (NEB; Frankfurt/Main, Germany). Chemically competent E. coli 10 beta cells (NEB, Frankfurt/Main, Germany) are transformed in a manner known to a person skilled in the art. The correct insertion of the target genes is checked by restriction analysis and the authenticity of the introduced homologous regions confirmed by DNA sequencing. The size of the resulting plasmid pACYCATh5-{PrhaSR}[rhaSR_Ec]{PrhaBAD}[rhlAB_Pa]{Talk}[araC_Ec]{ParaBAD}[rmlBDAC_Pa]{Talk} (SEQ ID No 18) is 16 359 bp.

Thereafter, the plasmid is introduced into P. putida KT2440 Δupp. This strain is used as the starting strain for the construction of markerless gene deletions in P. putida (Graf & Altenbuchner, 2011. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, Vol 77, No. 15, 5549-5552, DOI:10.1128/AEM.05055-11).

The method is based on a negative counter-selection system for P. putida, which utilizes the activity of uracil phosphoribosyltransferase and the sensitivity of P. putida towards the antimetabolite 5-fluorouracil. The deletion of the upp gene has no effect on rhamnolipid biosynthesis.

The transformation of P. putida KT2440 Δupp with the vector pACYCATh5-(PrhaSR) [rhaSR_Ec] {PrhaBAD} [rhlAB_Pa] {Talk}[araC_Ec]{ParaBAD}[rmlBDAC_Pa]{Talk} is carried out as described in Iwasaki et al. (Iwasaki K, Uchlyama H. Yagi O, Kurabayashi, T, Ishizuka K. Takamura Y, Biosci. Biotech. Biochem. 1994, 58(5):851-854). The plasmid DNA from each of 10 clones is isolated and analysed. A strain bearing the plasmid is called P. putida KT2440 Δupp pACYCATh5-{PrhaSR} [rhaSR_Ec]{PrhaBAD} [rhlAB_Pa] {Talk}[araC_Ec] {ParaBAD} [rmlBDAC_Pa] {Talk}.

Example 5 (inventive): Use is made of the strain P. putida KT2440 Δupp Δgcd+pACYCATh5-{PrhaSR}[rhaSR_Ec]{PrhaBAD}[rhlAB_Pa]{Talk}[araC_Ec]{ParaBAD}[rmlBDAC_Pa]{Talk})

Construction of the strain P. putida KT2440 Δupp Δgcd+pACYCATh5-{PrhaSR}[rhaSR_Ec]{PrhaBAD}[rhLAB_Pa]{Talk}[araC_Ec]{ParaBAD}[rmlBDAC_Pa]{Talk})

To construct the strain P. putida KT2440 Δupp Δgcd+pACYCATh5-{PrhaSR}[rhaSR_Ec]{PrhaBAD}[rhlAB_Pa]{Talk}[araC_Ec]{ParaBAD}[rmlBDAC_Pa]{Talk}), the plasmid pACYCATh5-{PrhaSR} [rhaSR_Ec] {PrhaBAD} [rhlAB_Pa] {Talk}[araC_Ec] {ParaBAD} [rmlBDAC_Pa] {Talk} is introduced into the strain P. putida KT2440 Δupp Δgcd. The construction of the strain has already been described in Example 2 and the plasmid construction in Example 4.

The transformation is carried out as described in Iwasaki et al. (Iwasaki K, Uchlyama H, Yagi O, Kurabayashi, T, Ishizuka K, Takamura Y, Biosci. Biotech. Biochem. 1994. 58(5):851-854). Thereafter, the cells are plated out on LB-agar plates supplemented with kanamycin (50 μg/ml). The plasmid DNA from each of 10 clones is isolated and analysed by means of restriction analysis. A strain bearing the plasmid is called P. putida KT2440 Δupp Δgcd pACYCATh5-{PrhaSR}[rhaSR_Ec]{PrhaBAD}[rhlABC_Pa]{Talk} [araC_Ec]{ParaBAD}[rmlBDAC_Pa]{Talk}.

Technical realization is carried out as described in Example 1.

3 experiments are carried out, each in parallel to Example 4.

What is evaluated is the total yield, determined as the sum of biomass plus rhamnolipid made divided by glucose used and consumed.

The P. putida strain, which besides rhlA and rhlB contains the native gene for glucose dehydrogenase, achieves on average a lower total yield [(g biomass+g RL)/g glucose] compared to the strain with the deletion of the gcd gene. 

1: A cell able to make at least one rhamnolipid, wherein the cell has been genetically modified such that it, compared to the wild type thereof, has a decreased activity of at least one enzyme E₁, which catalyses the conversion of D-glucose and quinone to D-glucono-1,5-lactone and quinol. 2: The cell according to claim 1, wherein the cell is able to make, as the at least one rhamnolipid, a compound of the general formula (I),

where m=1, n=1 or 0, and the radical determined via R¹ and R² is

derived from 3-hydroxyoctanoyl-3-hydroxyoctanoic acid, 3-hydroxyoctanoyl-3-hydroxydecanoic acid, 3-hydroxydecanoyl-3-hydroxyoctanoic acid, 3-hydroxyoctanoyl-3-hydroxydecenoic acid, 3-hydroxydecenoyl-3-hydroxyoctanoic acid, 3-hydroxyoctanoyl-3-hydroxydodecanoic acid, 3-hydroxydodecanoyl-3-hydroxyoctanoic acid, 3-hydroxyoctanoyl-3-hydroxydodecenoic acid, 3-hydroxydodecenoyl-3-hydroxyoctanoic acid, 3-hydroxydecanoyl-3-hydroxydecanoic acid, 3-hydroxydecanoyl-3-hydroxydecenoic acid, 3-hydroxydecenoyl-3-hydroxydecanoic acid, 3-hydroxydecenoyl-3-hydroxydecenoic acid, 3-hydroxydecanoyl-3-hydroxydodecanoic acid, 3-hydroxydodecanoyl-3-hydroxydecanoic acid, 3-hydroxydecanoyl-3-hydroxydodecenoic acid, 3-hydroxydecanoyl-3-hydroxytetradecenoic acid, 3-hydroxytetradecanoyl-3-hydroxydecenoic acid, 3-hydroxydodecenoyl-3-hydroxydecanoic acid, 3-hydroxydecanoyl-3-hydroxytetradecanoic acid, 3-hydroxytetradecanoyl-3-hydroxydecanoic acid, 3-hydroxydecanoyl-3-hydroxytetradecenoic acid, 3-hydroxytetradecenoyl-3-hydroxydecanoic acid, 3-hydroxydodecanoyl-3-hydroxydodecanoic acid, 3-hydroxydodecenoyl-3-hydroxydodecanoic acid, 3-hydroxydodecanoyl-3-hydroxydodecenoic acid, 3-hydroxydodecanoyl-3-hydroxytetradecanoic acid, 3-hydroxytetradecanoyl-3-hydroxydodecanoic acid, 3-hydroxytetradecanoyl-3-hydroxytetradecanoic acid, 3-hydroxyhexadecanoyl-3-hydroxytetradecanoic acid, 3-hydroxytetradecanoyl-3-hydroxyhexadecanoic acid or 3-hydroxyhexadecanoyl-3-hydroxyhexadecanoic acid. 3: The cell according to claim 1, wherein E₁ is a glucose 1-dehydrogenase of EC 1.1.5.2. 4: The cell according to claim 1, wherein the cell is selected from the group consisting of Burkholderia sp., Burkholderia thailandensis, Pseudomonas sp., Pseudomonas putida, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Pseudomonas oleovorans, Pseudomonas stutzeri, Pseudomonas chlororaphis, Pseudomonas fluorescens, Pseudomonas citronellolis, Pseudomonas resinovorans, Comamonas testosteroni, Aeromonas hydrophila, Cupriavidus necator, Alcaligenes latus and Ralstonia eutropha. 5: The cell according to claim 1, wherein the cell has been genetically modified such that it, compared to the wild type thereof, has an increased activity of at least one of the enzymes selected from the group consisting of E₂, E₃ and E₄, the enzyme E₂ being able to catalyse the conversion of 3-hydroxyalkanoyl-ACP via 3-hydroxyalkanoyl-3-hydroxyalkanoic acid-ACP to hydroxyalkanoyl-3-hydroxyalkanoic acid, the enzyme E₃ being a rhamnosyltransferase I and being able to catalyse the conversion of dTDP-rhamnose and 3-hydroxyalkanoyl-3-hydroxyalkanoate to α-L-rhamnopyranosyl-3-hydroxyalkanoyl-3-hydroxyalkanoate, and the enzyme E₄ being a rhamnosyltransferase II and being able to catalyse the conversion of dTDP-rhamnose and α-L-rhamnopyranosyl-3-hydroxyalkanoyl-3-hydroxyalkanoate to α-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1-2)-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl-3-hydroxyalkanoyl-3-hydroxyalkanoate. 6: The cell according to claim 5, wherein E₂, E₃ and E₄ are encoded by an rhlA gene, an rhlB gene and an rhlC gene, respectively, or are enzymes having a polypeptide sequence in which up to 25%, of the amino acid residues are modified with respect to the enzymes encoded by an rhl gene by deletion, insertion, substitution or a combination thereof and which still has at least 10%, of the enzymatic activity of the enzyme having the reference sequence of the enzymes encoded by an rhl gene. 7: The cell according to claim 5, wherein the cell has increased activities of the following enzyme combinations selected from E₃, E₃E₄, and E₂E₃E₄. 8: The cell according to claim 1, wherein the cell, compared to the wild type thereof, has an increased activity of at least one of the enzymes selected from the group consisting of at least one enzyme E₅, a dTTP:α-D-glucose-1-phosphate thymidylyltransferase of EC 2.7.7.24, at least one enzyme E₆, a dTDP-glucose 4,6-hydrolyase of EC 4.2.1.46, at least one enzyme E₇, a dTDP-4-dehydrorhamnose 3,5-epimerase of EC 5.1.3.13, and at least one enzyme E₈, a dTDP-4-dehydrorhamnose reductase of EC 1.1.1.133. 9: The cell according to claim 1, wherein the cell, compared to the wild type thereof, has an increased activity of at least one enzyme E₁₃, which catalyses the export of a rhamnolipid from the cell into the surrounding medium, selected from the group consisting of enzymes having polypeptide sequence AAG04520.1, AJY02996.1, ZP_05590661.1, YP_439278.1, YP_440069.1, ZP_04969301.1, ZP_04520234.1, YP_335528.1, YP_001075859.1, YP_001061817.1, ZP_02487499.1, YP_337251.1, ZP_04897712.1, ZP_04810190.1, YP_990322.1, ZP_02476924.1, ZP_04899735.1, ZP_04893873.1, ZP_02365982.1, YP_001062909.1, YP_105611.1, ZP_03794061.1, ZP_03457011.1, ZP_02385401.1, ZP_02370552.1, YP_105236.1, ZP_04905097.1, YP_776387.1, YP_001811690.1, YP_004348730.1, YP_004348708.1, YP_371320.1, YP_623145.1, YP_001778810.1, YP_002234933.1, CCE52909.1, YP_002908248.1, ZP 04954557.1, ZP_04956038.1, ZP_02408950.1, ZP_02375897.1, ZP_02389908.1, YP_439274.1, YP_001074762.1, YP_337247.1, YP_110559.1, ZP_02495927.1, YP_111360.1, YP_105608.1, ZP_02487826.1, ZP_02358947.1, YP 001078605.1, ZP_00438000.1, ZP_00440993.1, ZP_02477260.1, YP_371317.1, YP 001778807.1, ZP_02382843.1, YP_002234936.1, YP_623142.1, ZP_02907618.1, ZP 02891478.1, YP_776390.1, ZP_04943308.1, YP_001811693.1, ZP_02503985.1, YP_004362740.1, YP_002908245.1, YP_004348705.1, ZP_02408798.1, ZP_02417250.1, EGD05166.1, ZP_02458677.1, ZP_02465793.1, YP_001578240.1, ZP_04944344.1, YP_771932.1, ZP_02889166.1, YP_002232614.1, ZP_03574808.1, ZP_02906105.1, YP_001806764.1, YP_619912.1, YP_001117913.1, YP_106647.1, YP_001763368.1, ZP_02479535.1, ZP_02461743.1, YP_560998.1, YP_331651.1, ZP_04893070.1, YP_003606714.1, ZP_02503995.1, ZP_06840428.1, YP_104288.1, ZP_02487849.1, ZP_02353848.1, YP_367475.1, ZP_02377399.1, ZP_02372143.1, YP_001897562.1, ZP_02361066.1, YP 440582.1, ZP_03268453.1, AET90544.1, YP_003908738.1, YP_004230049.1, ZP_02885418.1 or ZP_02511831.1 or having a polypeptide sequence in which up to 25% of the amino acid residues are modified with respect to the particular aforementioned accession number by deletion, insertion, substitution or a combination thereof and which still has at least 10% of the enzymatic activity of the enzyme having the particular aforementioned accession number. 10: A method for producing a rhamnolipid, comprising: I) contacting a cell according to claim 1, combining measures as appropriate, with a medium containing a carbon source; II) culturing the cell under conditions allowing the cell to make the rhamnolipid from the carbon source; and III) optionally, isolating the rhamnolipid made. 11: A method, comprising: adding the rhamnolipid obtained using the method according to claim 10 to a mixture, wherein the mixture is a cosmetic formulation, dermatological formulation, pharmaceutical formulation, crop-protection formulation, care product, cleaning agent, or surfactant concentrate. 